Horrible habits; Pandemic practices that became habitual

Layton Hillier, Copy Editor

     As a result of the pandemic, some people are developing new habits, for better or for worse, many of these habits will stay with us for a long time.

     The pandemic has caused some people to adapt with good habits, like listening to the news and podcasts while driving, instead of songs to productively occupy otherwise dead hours, like former North Harford student Camille Denard who said, “I love listening to podcasts in the car, especially academic journals, I really like learning about new things.” 

     Research is not the only thing Denard enjoys listening to while driving. She commented that “if it’s not dark out, I like hearing about true crime and horror. It’s really interesting, but I usually can’t listen to it when it’s dark because it creeps me out.”

     Denard isn’t the only person who’s experienced a change in habits since the pandemic started, “My family and I have started to be more active since the start of the pandemic.” Says science teacher Mrs. Christine Jestel. “It’s helped me realize the importance of exercise and even though I’ve let other things go in return, exercising daily has helped me feel a lot better.” Exercising is an important habit and has helped her develop good habits, especially in the peak of the pandemic according to Jestel

     A pandemic can change the habits that many people had, new bad habits like social media binging or panic-eating comfort foods, but may appear as breaks in good habits, like frequent workouts and losing touch with a typical day-to-day structure, according to Centre Spring M.D., it is important to change these habits to “avoid having to undo damage after we come out of this pandemic.”

     Experts recommend that people reexamine their goals, to make sure they are on track to complete them, “it’s easier to act habitually, so we can end up returning to our pre-pandemic habits,” says psychologist Wendy Wood.

     Psychologists are not the only people who believe this, behavioral scientists such as BJ Fogg agree that “now is the best time to consciously decide what habits you want to keep, and what new habits you want to form.” 

     Denard is taking Fogg’s advice to heart, “it feels like a clean slate, both starting college and going into post-pandemic life, so I’m really taking time to evaluate what I want to do, and how I can get there.”

     Denard hopes others can follow her lead, “I think it’s important to have good habits, bad ones can really change how your high school experience goes, and how you interact with the world. If you spend your time worrying about one thing, it’s a lot harder to create good memories, even if the memories are focused on something else.”

     Some experts, such as King’s College London’s Benjamin Gardner, believe that habits associated with the pandemic directly will fade away as the pandemic does. 

     “Most of us will return to our habits from before the pandemic, but I hope that some of the things we learned because of it will stick around,” says Denard.