The history of psychology states that behavior is a set of endless emotions and thoughts that form a distinct individual identity. Research has led to the consensus that behavior continuously changes with life and respond to major life events. For instance, streamers who like to watch movie in cinema, kept watching their favorite movies on Hulu and Netflix at home during Covid-19.
As far as myself is concerned, I believe that one’s behavior is shaped by experiences and interactions with people, so how can the months of separation from friends, family and colleagues have changed my behavior? The Covid-19 suddenly disrupted our daily routines and forced me to live differently.
My Experiences during Covid-19
In March 2020, my office was closed in compliance of official order and I was supposed to work from home. Initially, I found it very difficult because I couldn’t focus on work while living with family. I was also in stress about what was happening in the world. On first May 2020, I was told that our office is going to be close permanently by the end of june. It increased my financial stress.
I was the sort of person who loves making friends with people who were completely different than me. I liked to spend time with people who go on vacation and try new food. However, during Covid-19 I had to cook myself. Usually, I shake hands when I meet someone. Thus, it was also a difficult task to stay away from the loved one, even I couldn’t see my friends in person for a long time.
Washing hands after performing any task and wearing mask even at home was also very irritating. However, with the passage of time, I learned to manage all these things. I started thinking that it is an opportunity to approach and deepen my relationship with my family and think about life and their priorities.
Engagement with Social Media
To stay aware about coronavirus updates, my engagement with social media increased. I observed many People on social media were sharing their stories, other were trying to reduce anxiety. Some people were also sharing misleading information about fact and figures. PWC highlighted that fake news about Covid-19 has made the situation even worst. Thanks to official resources for investigating and monitoring online forums spreading false claims and information about virus.
I also came across many newly established YouTube Channels. Most of these channels were trying to educate other about virus symptom, treatment and cautions. Even I saw people who were infected, were making videos and uploading on YouTube to inform others about their state of mind during disease. Some people were suggesting not to follow the guideline prescribed by these new established channels rather consult doctor to seek medical advice.
My Buying Behavior
The pandemic also affected my buying behavior. With the fear of getting infected, I started to buy online. Initially, I just purchased grocery but later, I found it easy and convenient to order other things online like laptop table, book rack, Air fryer etc. However, I faced problem of late delivery of my orders. By asking, company told during critical situation they are supposed to deliver grocery and medication first then other things.
Opportunities During COVID-19
The positive thing is many people take pandemic as an opportunity of learning and business. As a vast number of employees including me lost their jobs, started learning new skills and finding online business opportunity.
E-commerce Growth
Similarly, after losing job, while finding online work opportunity, I realized the importance of online business especially E-Commerce. A recent report published by OECD, verifies that e-commerce has surged during disease and the trend is expected to continue in future.
Anyone can sell online with a certain amount of investment. And things become easy If a person has digital skills like web development, social media marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) etc. The ecommerce opportunity attracted me, and I started thinking to utilize MEMON (Making Enough Money Out of Nothing) approach to practice ecommerce business.
Online Shop
I had a huge collection of Jewelry. Thus, I decided to sell used Jewelry. As I didn’t have enough money to buy services of web developer, and SEO expert. I started reading success stories of small online shop. I read a story of a lady who was selling homemade cakes in her city just by using a Facebook page. I tried to replicate her business model.
Therefore, I decided to create a Facebook page to target young ladies in my city Toronto. I sat down with my elder brother who has an MBA Degree, to set the business strategy. We decided about major things like designing Facebook posts using Jewelry images, target audience, target location and deliver services provider etc. It also gave us an overview of total cost. As, I had an experience of working on Canva. I was able to design post myself. For the first month, it was worried because I couldn’t achieve the target of page followers exactly from out target location.
Suddenly, I saw an ad of free virtual conference about Digital Marketing within next 5 days. I registered and attended the conference and learned that I can reach the target customers using paid Fakebook ads campaign. The interest thing was that I was told that Facebook offers free short course to help running ad campaigns. I attended the course and started selling used Jewelry and within a month I successfully sold the entire stock.
Conclusion
Now in December 2020, I have learned a lot; now I better understand -the importance of handwashing, the maintenance of essentials such as food or water, selling things online and social media market. These may be not possible if there were no Covid-19. Most importantly, I have succeeded in deepening my relationship with my family.
In a nutshell, Covid-19 has completely changed my attitude towards life. It has improved my self-control, skills and made me conscious about hygienic conditions. Today I am extra bold, well-informed online seller, cautious and sensitive than ever before.