Just wondering…

Here are a few things I wonder about these days.

When did it become OK to talk in libraries? When I was growing up, you were shushed by a stern librarian if you talked to a friend. Nowadays, though, and happily, talking is completely fine. Our library is a place to gather and enjoy conversation.

When did it become acceptable to wear headphones or ear buds all day and night? I fear something is lost when we don’t talk to each other in social situations. It seems too often that people you see are absorbed in their own world too much; not open to serendipity.

I wonder, too, what the effect of the pandemic may have on young people socially. Will they sit around and share a pizza? Will they gather in numbers to party with drinks and snacks as before? Or will they be apprehensive about meeting each other with a hug or put their arms around each other.

I think it’s going to take me some time to figure out the new social landscape whenever the pandemic ends.