The World After Coronavirus

[rjh01]

Maybe large denomination notes such as the Australian $100 note will be abolished. I rarely see them. After all any transaction over $10 I offer my credit card.

One thing that may need to change is the credit card fees. They need to be a fixed % of the value of the transactions + a fixed $ per month and that is it. Then when I buy something for 50 cents the shop will take my credit card no problems. This will also mean that children will have credit cards.

 

[The Atheist]

That's another thought I had - it won't go away because you can't cure stupid, but I'll be prepared to bet that the anti-vaxxer movement takes a hit from this after people can see first-hand what it is that vaccines actually do and what a lack of one can do to their loved ones.

Good point - even the dumbest of them will see that.

Provided we get a vaccine in time to matter.

 

[Puppycow]

Hopefully we'll all be a little bit better prepared for the next pandemic.

For example, the government should have a larger stockpile of basic medical supplies like PPE (masks and whatnot). And people should be better prepared to work from home.

Of course, that sort of thing won't last very long, because memories fade and people get complacent again.

 

[The Atheist]

Of course, that sort of thing won't last very long, because memories fade and people get complacent again.

That was my first comment as well, but I'm wondering if teleworking might get a long-term boost.

If people have been performing their work at home, they might question why they need to commute for hours a day.

That would be a huge improvement for the planet.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

This will also mean that children will have credit cards.

Debit cards seems more likely. Or things like Apple Pay, depending on the age of the kid. Create an account for each of your kids and set up a standing order to pay in a certain amount each day, or transfer some if they need money for something specific.

I could see something like that being workable for most people.

 

[erwinl]

I've seen places requesting card-only. I've been completely cashless since the beginning of the year. It kind of further disadvantages the already-disadvantaged, though.

We've been cashless for the last few years. The only reason I still have cash money in the house is because of larp events that are too small to have the tools for debit card payment (in the case of drinks and such). That and the fact a lot of camperplaces in Europe have to be paid with coins (Germany, I'm looking at you!) .

But even this will change in the future, I think.

 

[dann]

Some film studios are already starting to release their films online rather than at the cinema. If they find that that's a viable model, then they may not go back to the old model. And cinemas operate on a razor's edge of profit as it is, so this crisis may see many of them close. If that were to happen, that would exacerbate studios not returning to the cinemas, as fewer cinemas means fewer profits..

The Copenhagen Documentary Film Festival this week, CPH : DOX was about to get cancelled but went online instead.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

Yep, I'd vote for that.

One other thing occurred to me today as I noticed the astonishing sight of flour sold out. Given how little home cooking people do, I wondered if maybe they'd get into the habit of doing so and not eat McDonalds 200 times a year.

That's actually hit us, we hadn't bought a loaf of bread in about two years (my wife has decided she's gluten intolerent when it's shop bought but fine when it's home made or something). So our breadmaker is a busy piece of kit. We normally bulk buy flour once or twice a month and unfortunately the panic buy hit just before we were due to stock up. I suspect many of those panic bought bags of flour will end up in the bin unused in a year or so's time

 

[William Parcher]

Good point - even the dumbest of them will see that.

Provided we get a vaccine in time to matter.

The anti-vaxxers will not stop as it is a quasi religion.

"The vaccine worked wonderfully for the Covid-19, but at the same time it still causes autism in children."

 

[William Parcher]

This will also mean that children will have credit cards.

Criminals are going to love that.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Peer-review and big scientific journals will become less important.
Health-tracking will become more important as privacy around health data will be weakened.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

Criminals are going to love that.

As I said above, debit cards are a lot more likely than credit cards. As it is, under 18s cannot have credit cards but can have debit cards. I see no reason for this to be changed if cash were to be eliminated.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

Peer-review and big scientific journals will become less important.

What makes you say that?

Health-tracking will become more important as privacy around health data will be weakened.

The groundwork has certainly been set. Loads of people (myself included) already wear devices that records some of their vitals. I know Apple are reportedly good with people's data, but I'd be surprised if google, Microsoft, etc. were. And we live in a world where expectations of privacy are much reduced already, and where many, if not most, people don't care about their data being shared.

It doesn't seem unreasonable that people may become comfortable with sharing even more of their data, although if the methods of collecting it are more invasive than just wearing a watch it'll certainly take some adjustment.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

Fingers crossed for some resurgent leftism in the US. Class consciousness on the rise as the ghouls in power openly suggesting sacrificing lives to protect wealth.

 

[William Parcher]

As I said above, debit cards are a lot more likely than credit cards. As it is, under 18s cannot have credit cards but can have debit cards. I see no reason for this to be changed if cash were to be eliminated.

Criminals are going to love it when all children are carrying debit cards.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

What makes you say that?

It's too slow.
We will see more open-access, reviewed by readers articles published.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

It's too slow.
We will see more open-access, reviewed by readers articles published.

Yeah, perhaps. More likely for things that are urgent, such as currently. But whether it'll become a common thing will, I think, depend on whether reader review proves to be as effective as peer review.

 

[angrysoba]

Criminals are going to love it when all children are carrying debit cards.

Sure they will. Just as they love it when they all carry cash.

ETA: Although, to be fair, criminals love it much more when children carry cash, as it is easier to buy drugs with cash.

 

[Earthborn]

There might be a backlash against the various populist movements.

Would be nice, but I don't think there will be. If anything, people's fears for everything "foreign" will increase instead of decrease, and closed borders may become normal again. I think this may be the end of globalisation and a return to isolationism.

 

[William Parcher]

Sure they will. Just as they love it when they all carry cash.

ETA: Although, to be fair, criminals love it much more when children carry cash, as it is easier to buy drugs with cash.

You are not thinking.

When criminals rob children they get all the cash in the pocket. But when they rob the child of a debit card they get all the cash in the account. This is because ATMs give out cash and the debit card will be used at an ATM by the criminal.

The criminal robs the child of two things. The debit card and the PIN. The reason that they will love it is because it's easier and safer to rob children rather than adults or even teenagers.