A few weeks ago, I wrote about a woman on TikTok who went viral for making a list of things that used to be fancy, special, or nice before COVID-19 that just, well, aren't anymore. It garnered a wave of responses talking about other negative ways that COVID has impacted daily life; so in the spirit of commiseration, I've decided to share people's opinions on the things that have changed for the worse postpandemic.
1. "When we look back on COVID in a few years or decades, it will become clear how big a disruption it was to society. It has changed not only the economies of the world by itself and the decisions made by governments, but also society itself. Inequalities have gotten much worse, people have become more self-centered, and the way people work or spend their time has drastically changed."
2. "I planned to get a new car in the summer of 2020. I have high anxiety, so the pandemic was obviously a recipe for disaster and my car was still running fine, so I put it off. And then came the supply chain issues. And then USED cars started selling for MORE than brand-new cars! It's now 2024 and I still haven't gotten a new car. I will this summer, but goddammit, no more issues, PLEASE."
3. "I’ve been so poor in my life that really, the only outing or extra I had to look forward to was grocery shopping. That is now dead. I fucking hate going to the grocery store now. In addition, the high prices are definitely due to greed and not just inflation. Shopping at Aldi is sometimes depressing. However, it is the only affordable store in my area. Everything literally costs at least two to three times more at the ‘name-brand' stores where variety, the spice of life, thrived."
4. "I knew it was some bullshit when I went to restock my microwave popcorn and the $5 24-pack I usually get became a $6 18-pack. Let’s not even talk about the price of regular-ass drawstring sweatpants these days. And for what? I’m paying $7 more to have to patch up the pockets right off the shelf."
5. "The movies. People text, talk, get up and down a dozen times, and let their kids run up and down the stairs (or bring their kids to not-kid-friendly movies; I witnessed someone have their toddler scream his way through The Batman in a packed theater, and the ushers wouldn't do anything). You can put your phone away for two hours, I promise."
6. "My husband and I cook at home almost always, but we went to a concert downtown a couple of weeks back and decided to grab some Wendy's for a quick dinner before the show: $30 for two burgers, fries, and sodas. WTF. I mean, yeah, it's been like three to four years since we've had Wendy's, but it definitely wasn't 30 bucks last time!"
7. "Getting headphones with your phone purchase. I loved having corded headphones as a backup! I hate having to buy them separately. They don't cost that much to make, and with what I paid for the phone, they should be included."
8. "Just going to get McDonald’s now. Two regular meals are almost $25…for burgers and fries. That’s trickle-down economics doing what it does best, though!"
9. "I miss menus! QR codes are the worst."
10. "Never mind luxury items; where I live, the most basic food items have gone up in price and been reduced in size. A once-500-gram pack of pasta is now $5 and only 350 grams. Bread is smaller and over $10 a loaf — it's ridiculous. A movie ticket now being $24 means even that has become a luxury, once-in-a-blue-moon outing."
11. "Little stops to get coffee and a snack, for sure. The last time my husband and I did this, it cost us $16 for two coffees, two pieces of lemon pound cake, and some gum. SIXTEEN. DOLLARS. We don't bother with that anymore; no matter how cranky we are, we just go home to make coffee there."
