I’m tired of the word lockdown. It’s a word that has taken a strangle hold on global consciousness, becoming ubiquitous and finding its way into every text, facetime, and mask to mask conversation. Amongst the most used words of 2020, it has become a constant fixture in everyday thought and interactions, dominating every topic, scenario, and idea. But no one’s to blame for this, we’re in a pandemic after all. What else are we supposed to talk about. There’s nothing to do, nowhere to go, and there’s only so many things you can do and say on the phone.
Naturally, people spend their time complaining about lockdown, describing what they have already done in lockdown and what they plan to do for the rest of the lockdown; Speculating on if the lockdown will end when its scheduled to or if the government will reload the clip and fire off more stay-at-home announcements and work from home mandates.
It’s admittedly a very strange time (another phrase my ears have grown tired of hearing!) and people are trying to find different methods and ways to cope with the constant and disorienting changes that have been disrupting our lives for almost exactly a year. One area of my life that I have been hearing the word lockdown more and more is when I meet people on the internet for the first time (for school, work, etc).
With it being harder than ever to make friends, start relationships, meet people, or simply interact with people other than those in your home/support bubble, people have had to become more creative and flexible in their approach to socialising and more strategic in the way they communicate. As a result, one of the easiest and quickest way to make a connection is through discussing the lockdown and its various subtopics. After all its something we’re all going through and experiencing. There’s no need to guess whether you both have the same taste in movies, similar music tastes, or try to figure out what you have in common. Admittedly, it is the epitome of low hanging fruit, but ultimately represents the easiest conversation starter available at this moment and a guaranteed common thread that exists with anyone you meet no matter their age or sex.
So, while I do have lockdown fatigue, both of the word and the circumstance, I can appreciate its usefulness in that situation. Overall, though, I can’t wait for this pandemic to be over, if only so I never have to hear the word lockdown (or the phrase ‘in these trying times’ and others like it) ever again. Coronavirus is going to have a lasting effect on people, and society well beyond 2021 though, so it’s going to be a while before I’m released from these depressing words and phrases and am able to go back to my regularly scheduled boring conversations. I can’t wait to go one day without mention of the pandemic or lockdown flashing across my screen while I drown myself in information and content, scrolling through the never-ending tunnels and chasms of the internet. Fingers crossed it’s sooner than later.
