Our lives have changed dramatically since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic at the beginning of the year. With the number of cases and fatalities on the rise in the U.S., it seems like we’ll be stuck in social isolation until the end of time. Graduations, holidays, and every day get togethers feel like shades of the past, while sweatpants and banana breads are our new normals. Needless to say, distractions are welcome and needed.
With no real predictions as to when this madness will stop, here’s what we can expect from the coronavirus in the coming weeks.
You’ve had to have noticed it: banana bread has taken social media by absolute storm. While our Insta feeds used to be flooded with dreamy brunch pics and boozy snapshots of our friends’ weekend outings, these days our endless scrolling is getting swamped by the easy baked good. But why? Why is banana bread all of a sudden more popular than ever?
Aside from being a universally recognized kick ass comfort food, banana bread is super easy to make. And if you binge shopped a few weeks ago, chances are those bananas you forgot about are ripe and mushy. Enter banana bread. It’s one of those dishes you can make with “leftover” ingredients, the spotty bananas, making it a super convenient, last minute project after you run out of isolation activities for the day. Get the recipe here!
But banana bread isn’t the only food craze of the coronavirus era; lots of people are turning to more complicated projects – like sourdough starters, croissants, homemade pizza dough, etc. – to pass the time and satisfy their appetites. So, don’t expect your feed to go back to OOTDs any time soon. As long as we’re stuck indoors, the people will bake.
Feel like everyone’s been posting videos of that same TikTok dance? With everyone trapped inside without access to the gym, many have turned to the video sharing app to get that pent up energy let out, recycling that one dance to various songs. The challenge has even earned a hashtag, the #DistanceDance, which is spreading like wildfire on social media platforms outside of TikTok. Even celebrities, including Justin Bieber and Kaia Gerber, have been rising to the challenge and showing us their best moves. So get ready for everyone on your friends’ list to jump on the #DistanceDance board…at least until our gyms reopen.
One social isolation trend that also gives back is people fostering dogs. What better way to spend time indoors than with a sweet pup to keep you company? It’s an idea a lot of people flirt with but never have the time, so with coronavirus restrictions on going out in public, many have indulged in the dream and taken to fostering.
Are you sick of sitting in front of your laptop or TV, fixated on streaming services? We aren’t either! And until the coronavirus pandemic let’s us go out for drinks with our friends, we are fully embracing that Netflix and chill life, fixed with all our favorite snacks and comfy pants.
Streaming services like Hulu and Netflix are super helpful in times like this, making access to endless amounts of television shows and films just one click away. And with everyday feeling like a snow day, passing the time by watching marathons of series shaves off hours of social isolation, as well as fixating on what’s wrong in society. Watching movies with family members or quarantine buddies is also a great bonding activity and a major distraction from the outside, coronavirus infested world.
Take binge watching to video chat with group calls on Facetime or Zoom! That way, even in the absence of your best pals, you can still enjoy those weekend movie marathons.
Everyone is getting bangs. Or dying their hair. Or growing it out. Whatever the move, people are using this period of coronavirus induced isolation as an opportunity to take major hair risks. And I mean hey, no one’s going to see you for quite some time, so what better way to get through this strange era than by trying a look you’ve always been scared to test out?
For some reason, the coronavirus outbreak has triggered binge shoppers nationwide to blow through their incomes on paper towel and toilet paper products. Stores across the country have actually had to set quotas on the amount of these goods sold per person since so many people are rushing the supermarket aisles, buying them out. It’s bizarre, and it doesn’t appear to be dying down. That and hand sanitizer, which is more understandable.
So until the coronavirus curve is flattened and eventually declines, don’t expect to stock your pantry with these products. No matter how badly you need them.
Also sold out are surgical masks, which has actually been an issue for medical professionals in U.S. hospitals and clinics. Luckily, people are taking to homemade versions of the now necessity, putting these back on shelves and back in medical facilities.
DIY surgical masks, though, are a good craft idea and something that will probably be very useful in the coming weeks. All you need is some cute fabric and sewing supplies and you’ll be cute AND protected from the disease! If you HAVE to leave the house for whatever reason, you can anticipate seeing lots of these…hopefully.
The coronavirus outbreak has reinvented the handwritten letter. And we are here for it.
While written mail hasn’t gone anywhere, texting and emailing have taken over in the past decade, making handwritten letters a thing of the past. Lots of friends are finding mail to be a great comfort in these trying times, as sending or receiving a thoughtful note is a simple and easy way to brighten someone’s day. The process of making and addressing mail is also time consuming and a potential craft activity, so it serves as a nice departure from otherwise technology centered activities.
One day, we’ll all look back on the letters we received during the coronavirus pandemic and chuckle…hopefully. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself to skate by.
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