When creating this Coronavirus constraint map, it was definitely easier to identify effects that I have personally felt or observed around me; isolation & social distancing, companies losing business, and an overwhelming amount of pandemic updates from the news and the government. To me, everything that has been going on related to the virus seems to be very negative and strange since I have never experienced a situation like this before. However, I had not yet thought of the value that can be created from this situation due to opportunities society and companies may have.
Opportunity areas I have highlighted include both positive consequences of the Coronavirus, and negative consequences that have the potential to create innovative solutions.
Areas that are positively impacted include: lifestyle changes, technology, and social media. In terms of lifestyle, a lot of changes are negative; isolation can be lonely and boring, and health is hard to maintain as it is more challenging to do physical activity due to closings of gyms, and boredom in isolation leads to increased consumption of food and concerns with mental health. However, due to this boredom from isolation and social distancing, many people have elected to take up new hobbies such as cooking or making art. This is making people productive and providing a source of happiness for many. This also may be leading to increased sales for certain industries; I have noticed that many art supplies are sold out online. Technology has a lot of new opportunities now that storefronts are closed. People are doing a lot of online shopping in order to fulfill their needs, and companies that have websites do not have to worry about sales quite as much as companies that are not online. Lastly, social media has been a large source of both information and entertainment throughout this pandemic. Many people are sharing their personal experiences over social media platforms. And, younger generations are turning to social media in order to relate to each other through humor. Communication like this creates a sense of community online which can also be an opportunity for more people or companies to build followings online.
Although there are some positive results of the Coronavirus pandemic, it seems that most of the results have been overwhelmingly negative in the ways that they have affected companies, and people’s daily lives. Small, local, businesses are suffering greatly. Many of these businesses do not have room to be losing sales, especially in a situation like this. Also, many of these businesses do not have an online presence, which prevents them from selling products through methods that are not in person. But, there is an opportunity for these small businesses; to create an online presence so that they can stay connected with customers and sell online both in this pandemic and after it ends. Another problem that comes along with the Coronavirus is product shortages due to panic buying. Products such as food, cleaning supplies, and medical supplies are being cleared from store shelves. But, some companies have been responding to this by increasing production and some unrelated companies are temporarily switching their production to create these sold out products in order to meet customer needs.
A historical event that can be related to the current Coronavirus pandemic is the 1918 Influenza pandemic. For the most part, the 1918 Flu and Coronavirus are unalike; they are completely different illnesses and the Flu had a much higher death count and less awareness and treatment. Both the Coronavirus and the 1918 Flu were virtually global pandemics, which is why they affect so many people and societal functions as a whole. The two illnesses are similar in the widespread fear that they have created. People responded to both pandemics with hysteria and changing everyday life. The Flu sped up the end of the War and created change within healthcare measures. The Coronavirus has encouraged working at home, required businesses to close their storefronts, and resulted in students lacking an in-person education.
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