The confinement decreed by the Government of Pedro Sánchez to deal with the covid made many people discover that they could work, buy, learn, “see” the family, consult the doctor, consume culture, be politically active, flirt or exercise without leaving home. Three years later, that domesticity is a trend and there are countless tasks that we have become accustomed to doing locked up within the four walls of the home.
“The trend comes from further back, from when information and communication technologies broke out, but the confinement showed the potential it had and we quickly got used to its advantages: seeing children or grandchildren at a distance, communicating by videoconference, avoiding travel, being able to follow classes at any time and from anywhere…”, explains Mauro Hernández, professor of Economic History at Uned.
And he stresses that the restrictions on mobility or forced online education for children were a temporary phenomenon, but telematic attention, distance learning, teleworking, digital leisure, online shopping or ordering food at home are practices that have been have remained and that have obvious advantages but also very serious disadvantages.
“Locking each one of us in our house leads us to break ties of solidarity, neighborhood, family… and that is dangerous; it also has net detriments in terms of health and well-being; and it hinders mobilization and political, social or union demands”, summarizes Hernández. And he adds that domesticity also entails living with one’s back to public spaces and social diversity. “Today even minor prison sentences can be served at home with an electronic bracelet,” he says.
“It is a trend that goes unnoticed, that is being introduced silently because we all enjoy its advantages now and we will see the disadvantages in the future and, when we want to realize it, we will be too cooped up at home to look for alternatives”, says Hernández, which predicts that domesticity will have radical consequences on the way of caring for health, doing politics, relating…
Schoolchildren have returned to classrooms and many university students too, but the online teaching that the pandemic discovered has established itself as an alternative for many people who, due to schedules or place of residence, previously did not see it as possible to train. Many universities now offer online or blended studies, and the offer of non-regulated distance learning has also multiplied, including reinforcement or extracurricular classes.
The confinement forced millions of employees to telework for the first time in their lives. After the hardest moments of the pandemic, the bulk of them returned to their workplace, but some companies took the opportunity to implement a hybrid model that combines face-to-face and teleworking. According to the INE, in the last quarter of 2022, 6.4% of employees worked more than half the days from home and another 6% did so occasionally.
Three years later, the restrictions that made physical contact and hugs long for so much have gone down in history. But certain practices, such as the indiscriminate greeting with two kisses or hugging strangers, have not returned with the same intensity. And it is enough to look when queues or crowds form to verify that the adherence to the safety distance, even if it is not two meters, is maintained. Just as the practice of family video calls, interaction through social networks or online dating is also preserved. Today family relationships include many more watsaps and fewer visits.
With the massive vaccination against covid, bars and restaurants have filled up again, but there are many who have already made it a habit to order food at home regularly or when there is something to celebrate.
And consumers of all ages have stopped leaving stores in the neighborhood or going to the supermarket to buy through the screens. Online consumption has skyrocketed: from food to clothing, through durable or cultural goods, they are purchased without leaving the sofa at home.
