Second ‘Roaring 20s’ likely to take place after the pandemic, predicts academic

The social epidemiologist predicts a surge in 'sexual licentiousness' and a 'reverse of religiosity'

It has almost been one year since the coronavirus began spreading around the world, plunging us into a ‘new normal’ of social-distancing, variations on lockdowns and endless cancelled events.

The restrictions placed on people across the world have been unprecedented, as people have gone months without seeing loved ones, borders have closed and global economies have suffered.

Throughout 2020, the pandemic has been compared with the Spanish Flu of 1918 and now, an academic has suggested our lives following Covid-19 may mirror those of people in the 1920s.

In his new book, Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live, Yale Professor Dr Nicholas Christakis predicts the pendulum will swing in the opposite direction post-pandemic, with millions seeking out “extensive social interactions” to make up for lost time.

“During epidemics you get increases in religiosity, people become more abstentious, they save money, they get risk averse and we’re seeing all of that now, just as we have for hundreds of years during epidemics,” Christakis told The Guardian. 

However, post-pandemic “all of those will be reversed.”

As in the Roaring 20s, which followed the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, society will revert to an era of indulgence, with Dr Christakis predicting that there will be a surge in “sexual licentiousness as well as a “reverse of religiosity.”

He added that the outcome is fairly predictable as it follows a distinct pattern. 

“What’s happening to us may seem to so many people to be alien and unnatural, but plagues are not new to our species – they’re just new to us,” said Dr Christakis, who specialises in studying human behaviour. 

The professor also pointed out that past pandemics have shown that it is the disease itself, and not the government’s response, which is most directly causing the current financial fallout.

"Many people seem to think it’s the actions of our government that are causing the economy to slow – that’s false,” he said. “It’s the virus that’s causing the economy to slow, because economies collapsed even in ancient times when plagues happened, even when there was no government saying close the schools and close the restaurants.”

It brings a little hope to what has become a seemingly bleak future, with millions having had to cancel Christmas, as well as weddings and social plans with friends and family, and with nearly 1.5million people worldwide having lost their lives to coronavirus.

Despite Dr Christakis’ optimism, we still have a  while longer until the new Roaring 20s kicks off.

He predicts the new movement won’t begin until 2024, after we’ve distributed the vaccine and have had time to recover from the socioeconomic devastation.

“We’re the first generation of humans alive who has ever faced this threat that allows them to respond in real-time with efficacious medicines,” he adds. “It’s miraculous.”