An era of sexual debauchery and economic waste, it will be the post-pandemic between 2022 and 2024 for a Yale expert

For many, imagining what the end of the pandemic will look like is very similar to imagining what paradise will look like. After more than a year and a half of health restrictions, dire economic consequences and profound changes in the way we relate to intimates and strangers, many predict a sort of “promised land” at the end of the tunnel.

The American physician and sociologist Nicholas Christakis, Professor at Yale University and Co-Director of the Yale Institute for Network Science, estimated in his latest book, Arrow of Apollo: The profound and lasting impact of the coronavirus on our way of lifee (in Spanish, Apollo’s spire: the profound and lasting impact of the coronavirus on our way of life), that after the end of the pandemic, and once the psychological and social impact caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been overcome, years of more sexual freedom and greater consumption are expected. Ultimately, “The new 20s,” which could begin between 2023 and 2024, will be years of sexual deployment and economic waste.

The “Roaring Twenties” are known as the interwar period, which in Europe and the United States was marked by economic reactivation and greater social and sexual freedom. After the first great war (1914-1919) and the end of the Spanish flu epidemic (1918), little by little, consumption resumed and more people were able to access a better quality of life, after years of sacrifices and a health crisis. The 20s of the 20th century, which started strongly in 1924, and lasted until 1929, were the years of glamorous parties and the rise of new musical currents such as jazz and blues. These were also the years that saw the birth of mass entertainment in sports and theater, the golden age of cabarets and the birth of radio.

In dialogue with Infobae, Christakis, who is the author of more than 200 scientific papers and several books, warned that life in a pandemic “sounds very strange and unnatural, but parasites are not new to our species. They are just new to us. We think it’s crazy, but it’s not. For thousands of years, people have dealt with parasites. The plagues are in the Bible, they are in Homer, they are in Cervantes with Don Quixote, they are in Shakespeare. Parasites are part of the human experience. In this sense, we can look at the history of human beings to understand how we deal with and respond to a plague ”. “A plague of this magnitude is rare, but has a precedent“, He remarked during the interview.

The researcher was even prompted to predict a date when new changes are expected: “If we look at all the centuries of previous epidemics, it is clear that we are going to have an interim period during which we will accept the psychological, social and economic cost of the pandemic. I think it will last until about 2023. We must recover from the terrible impact of this experience. ”

In his latest book, Christakis, son of Greek parents, studied in his research the crisis caused by COVID-19 from an epidemiological, virological, sociological and historical point of view. And he felt that, In the course of 2023, we will enter the post-pandemic period, which will start most strongly in 2024. “And I think it will look a bit like the Roaring Twenties of the last century. And I hope the economy grows and the arts thrive as our tendency to socialize accelerates, ”the researcher continued.

The changes will not happen overnight because the exit from the pandemic will be gradual, he anticipated. Christakis, and indicated a transition period: “We have to recover from the terrible impact of this experience. Millions of businesses have closed. Millions are out of work. Millions of children have missed school significantly. Millions of people have lost family members to the virus. Many will have chronic disabilities from contracting the virus. We have to come to terms with all of these things, which will take time, ”the professor shared in an interview posted on the Yale University website.

Christakis, who was chosen as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2009 by Time magazine, explained in dialogue with Infobae that “we are the first generations of human beings who have been able to develop effective measures against the plague in real time, but we will have to face the virus until 2022 ″.

And what happens next? Has paradise come to the end of the tunnel? The sociologist defined it, in an interview with Infobae, because “we will leave behind the biological and epidemiological impact of the pandemic, the wave, like a tsunami, will descend and the damage will be visible. Pdevastated country. We are going to enter an intermediate period and we will have to face the psychological, social and economic shock. If you look at the history of pests for years, it will take a year, two years. Let’s say, until the end of 2023. “

In his most provocative forecast, Christakis defined, in dialogue with Infobae, What “From 2024 we will enter the post-pandemic period and I think it will be like the crazy 20s of the 21st century compared to the crazy 20s of the 20th century. People, who have been locked up, will want to go out (you know how Argentines are, they are going to go out), there are going to be parties, they are going to go out to discos, restaurants, sporting events and concerts. We can see changes in sexual behavior and there will be people spending money, consuming. I think we’ll have something like this when we finally leave the plague behind. “

Somewhere in 2024, “Life will slowly begin to return to normal, with some persistent changes and the trends of the pandemic will have been reversed. People will be looking for social interaction without a break. This could include free sex, a lot of spending, and a retraction of religiosity, ” evaluó Christakis, who also worked as a hospice physician in Chicago and Boston until 2011.

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