Introduction

Recently I've been reading posts all over the internet on how people actually like wearing masks. In this recent Reddit thread about Tom Hanks (saying he does not respect anyone does not wear mask), top comments discuss how people actually like wearing a mask because they can avoid social interaction altogether:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/hmyead/tom_hanks_has_no_respect_for_people_not_wearing

Now before I get into this post, I do not really care about your views on wearing or not wearing masks, at least in regards to this specific post. I could probably do an entire other posts on masks, and it will take away from true discussion on a deeper topic: the "new" normal. Masks are just one aspect of that.

With the recent quarantine, we are slowing being trained in new methods of socializing, said to be all about our health.

However, I'm here to argue that they have been training us for this new social normal for a long time. In the next decade, our social interactions will never be the same, and agenda 2030 is in full swing. The new normal will be about forced "solitary confinement."

Communities

One major goal of Agenda 2030 is complete urbanization:

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/

Most of the world will be urbanized by 2050, according to the UN:

https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html

So, why is this a bad thing specifically in regard to social interactions?

Though there are more people in cities, there is a breakdown of community - almost an oxymoron.

Cities are literally designed for loneliness, according to VICE:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kzvzpv/our-cities-are-designed-for-loneliness-v25n4

Now you might be thinking, "I live in a city, and I am completely fine!" And that may be true, but remember, the cities of the future will be much different.

In fact, they might even kind of mirror prisons: increasingly smaller spaces, crowding, less nature and outdoors, with perhaps more concentrated poverty:

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/08/more-americans-are-living-in-slums/400832/

In other words, you probably will not be living in an apartment like in an episode of "Friends."

Further, it will be impossible to own land and be independent. The more the world is urbanized, the more "they" can control.

But it was not always this way. Communities used to be much different. Small communities meant more focus on family, and "The evolution to an urban society is also frequently equated with a decline in the status of the family, and with a proliferation of nontraditional family forms and new types of households."

You can read more here about the impact of urbanization on society:

https://family.jrank.org/pages/1732/Urbanization-Social-Impacts-Urbanization.html

Overall, they have been breaking down our communities for decades, training us to urbanize and socially isolate in many ways.

Technology

I have written about technology and its impact so much that I am going to make this section short. Not only are we naturally reducing our social interactions, but technology is radically changing how we socially interact.

To keep it simple, technology cannot replace true social interaction:

https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/15/technology-cant-replace-the-human-touch/

https://mylittlefalls.com/robots-ai-and-remote-learning-cant-replace-human-interaction/

Perhaps the most recent example of that has been the disaster of transitioning to online education. More than ever, we saw how important it was for students and teachers to interact on a physical, human level:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/schools-coronavirus-remote-learning-lockdown-tech-11591375078

While technology may provide the illusion of a more fulfilled life, it ultimately makes us feel more lonely and depressed:

https://www.thinknpc.org/blog/can-technology-make-us-less-lonely/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100202193605.htm

The problem is that it is only going to get more intense, as the concept of cyborgs is not really science fiction anymore:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/cyborgs-arent-just-for-sci-fi-anymore

Misanthropy

On a more psychological level, we we being trained to hate other humans on a large scale. How many memes or articles do you see about people hating humanity? People loving animals more than humans? People hating social interaction? It has become "cool" to be a misanthropist.

Today, there is literally a rise or "antihumanism":

https://culturalanalysis.net/2018/03/01/the-rise-of-antihumanism/?epc_purge_single=1

I find it interesting how many people talk about how they hate it when they go to the store and somebody (gasps) talks to them. They hate having to call people. They hate having to speak at all.

I am guilty of that, and I have recently realised this hatred is somewhat irrational and possibly programmed. I remember before 2015ish, I used to air travel a lot, and I met the most interesting people in the world! We would talk the entire flight. Now when I fly, everyone is tied to their screens, and I have lost all the opportunity for meeting such interesting people.

What what happened is we have stopped valuing people and what they have to say in real life. We are also allowing this tone of "silence" to take over. Voices all over the world are being silenced because we cannot be inconvenienced with social interaction. We are being trained to accept this new normal of societal silence.

Solitary Confinement

Most know that solitary confinement is used to punish some of the most severe criminals:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-chemistry/201902/the-effects-solitary-confinement-the-brain

And for many, quarantine feels like tortune and punishment.

But if you read the above article, there is a clear distinction to be made between aloneness and loneliness. Solitary confinement is about lack of choice and more about forced "aloneness" than "loneliness."

Many, many people enjoy being alone, and that is okay. But the point is, most of the time, we have a choice about whether we want to be alone or not. Plus, most people do like being alone sometimes, but very few like the feeling of loneliness.

So do what is best for you. But when people start to lose social choices, whether it be through quarantine or living in a prison city, that is when the true torture starts.

The future will be one of forced solitary confinement. Sure, we will see people, but the social norms will have changed, which leads to some of my predictions.

Conclusion

Here are some of my predictions for the next decade or so.

1) 6 feet apart will become "always stay as far away as possible."

2) Interaction with humans will decrease overall. Robots will replace retail and restaurant workers, and much of what we do will be independent. For example, there will be "self stations" at post offices and libraries. We are already used to self check-out and ATMs. I even deposited my check on my phone the other day.

3) Entertainment will become mostly virtual, and I think most can see this trend.

4) Outdoor and natural places to spend time will be reduced, and perhaps replaced by virtual reality.

5) Overcrowding will lead to smaller urban homes and spaces. Think tiny houses.

6) New language (politically correct) will dominate conversations

7) People's voices will be more silenced as nearly anything you say is now forever documented online or through video.

8) There will be less family, less children, less friendship.

9) Much more will work from home.

10) There will be many laws established to keep social norms in place

Most of these are probably foreseeable. Still, what people cannot prepare for is how much we might actually miss other humans (and how much we probably already do).