When anything happens in our lives, we should take time to gather what we can takeaway from the situation. There are 10 quarantine takeaways that we’ve learned by observing others around the world. What has quarantine taught us as a society? What have we ultimately taken away as a result of this pandemic?

Rise in Home Cooking

The first takeaway from quarantine is the rise in home cooking. Because restaurants were ordered to either stop their services or only allow pickup/delivery, a large number of people weren’t able to go out as normal. While restaurants undoubtedly experienced hardships, a plethora of people were able to save big by not eating out every night. Instead of the typical take out, men and women alike were challenged to channel their inner chef. While it may have started as an annoying adjustment, eating a home cooked meal reminded people of how much it mattered. 

Increase in Online Dating

The second takeaway from quarantine is the increase in online dating. Singles all over the world were challenged to find alternative ways to meet each other. Traditional dating places like bars or restaurants were no longer an option a few months ago. Some bars have still not opened back up yet. Copious amounts of singles who preferred traditional dating had to turn their sights to online dating instead. As a result, online dating increased tremendously. You don’t have to pick anyone up at their house or spend crazy amounts of money at a restaurant on the first date. When you date online, you can browse pictures and definitively choose who you want to spend your time getting to know. 

Respect of Personal Space

Third on the list of takeaways from quarantine deals with respecting personal space. Turning awareness to the space you and others occupy was a big realization. It seems that social distancing has now become the new norm and people all over the world are respecting personal space more and more. Not standing too close to people in line is a new rule in grocery stores and malls worldwide. It doesn’t seem like this new rule will be letting up anytime soon.

Value of Simple Things

The fourth takeaway from quarantine is the value of simple things. Remember how nice it was to play outside and walk around in nature instead of being in a cubicle all day? The value of a simple phone call to a loved one was cherished during quarantine. Not being able to jump in the car or on a flight to see your friends and family was very difficult to deal with. However, people were able to get around this limitation by valuing the small things. A simple text, a quick call, a virtual video or even a letter was deeply appreciated by everyone. 

Working from Home

The next takeaway from quarantine entails the conversion of office workers to at-home workers. When companies and businesses needed to shut down operations in their facilities, they started sending employees home with their work. In-office meetings were moved to virtual Zoom calls and many employees had to check-in with their boss via Skype or WhatsApp. While working from home came with its own set of adjustments, people have realized the power of online communication even more than before. The savings on gas because of not having to commute was appreciated by many office-to-home employees. 

Surge in Social Media Usage

Moving through our list of 10 quarantine takeaways, another thing you can consider is the surge in social media usage. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube received noticeably higher interactions from people on their sites. 

Filtering Information

While people were really spending more time on social media, we were also having a hard time filtering accurate information about the pandemic. Forwarded messages, posts and memes were taking over and no one knew what to really believe anymore. While this was the downside, the upside was that we were able to practice filtering information for ourselves. It can be beneficial to hear other perspectives, but ultimately, you have to decide what reigns true for you at the end of the day. Filtering fear mongering from actual facts and events made us all fine tune our critical thinking.

Spending Time Alone

Another very important takeaway from quarantine deals with spending quality time with yourself. Being able to spend more time alone has allowed many people to reconnect with things they like to do. Sometimes, we let ourselves get overly busy and forget to do things that make us happy at heart. Having to be quarantined allowed all of us an opportunity to check in with ourselves. Some people started picking up hobbies they have always wanted to try and others rekindled their love of hobbies that slipped away over time.

Altered Exercise

Next on the list of quarantine takeaways is for all the dedicated gym members. Because of COVID-19, gyms had to postpone their operations. For those who regularly worked out at the gym, this was devastating news to hear. So what did we see people doing? Many people were exercising outdoors, in the park, in the parking lot of their apartment community or simply taking a walk around the neighborhood. While the altered exercise may have not been the preferred method, it allowed people to be more in touch with nature and the outdoors. 

Importance of Human Connection

The final and perhaps most major takeaway is the importance of human connection. Not being able to hug and meet up with people in person for a few months has been very difficult. Some people just couldn’t cope with this change and took extreme measures to remedy these limitations. No matter what, we are all humans and we need to feel, touch and be connected to other people.

Understanding these 10 quarantine takeaways can help you put this whole pandemic into a different perspective. We are what we repeatedly do and think. If we continue to frame this situation through a lens of positivity, we can begin to shift our take on events happening in the world. We can begin to realize that we don’t have to fear the past, present or future. In all things, we have the power to change how we think about what happens and what to ultimately take away from it. What else have you taken away from quarantine?