Over the years, your priorities and responsibilities will change. Many focus on living a particular way of life that makes them feel happy and fulfilled. These trends revolve around our daily lives and how we have started to deal with things differently, whether mentally, emotionally, or physically. Let us see what all has changed and how our lifestyle has been affected by it.
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Rise Of The Comfort Food
2020 was a very tiring and stressful year, with people panicking worldwide because of the uncertainty. This constant stress and anxiety subconsciously stopped people from liking complex flavors. Do you think it is a weird analogy? Let’s break it down. Simple foods, also known as simple flavors, are much easier to consume and enjoy. In contrast, complex foods or flavors take a certain amount of brainpower to comprehend all the tastes the dish carries. As people were already stressed out, they faced much fatigue, so the brain could not entirely understand flavors.
Therefore, people started avoiding complex flavors. This was the time when simple food came to the rise. Comfort food is anything simple that revolves around one particular taste like salty, bitter, sweet, and others. They are not a blend of flavors and thus easy for the brain to enjoy fully.
The statistics say it all. The sales of simple foods like potato chips and chocolates spiked to 90% more than they ever were before the pandemic. Many brands noticed this trend and introduced many comfort foods in their ways. For example, Dunkin’ Donuts brought simpler flavored donuts and even simple coffee as they sold more.
Comfort foods work great as stress relievers, especially the sweeter ones. They were easy to consume, less costly, and helped the consumer calm down mentally. It is 2021, and now people are genuinely enjoying their simple flavored food, and it is a change in their lifestyle.
Mental Health Awareness
It took a world pandemic for us to realize how important mental health is. The stress of 2020 was too much to handle for many. This is where the number of people suffering from panic attacks, anxiety issues, suicidal thoughts increased. The people opting for therapy also saw a rise. The internet was a great help to stir this conversation up since everyone was on their phones in the lockdown. Many celebrities came forward to support this cause too.
According to the statistics, one in every four young adults reported that they thought of committing suicide. One-third of people across all age groups confirmed that they felt mentally weak to the point that they suffered from depression. The trauma of people committing suicide because of the mental toll sparked the conversation. In 2021, mental health is no longer seen as a taboo as it was before the pandemic. It is still not completely normalized, but there has been a rise which is a ray of hope.
Caring For The Environment
Since the pandemic, people have started to be more careful and cautious with their health and the environment’s health. This was proven when the demand for plant-based food rose to newer heights. People are worried about their immunity. Because of that, they started eating healthier food which is primarily plant-based food. This is also better for the environment as this reduces the intake of meat and animal-based foods.
Eating healthier food was not the only change in eating habits. People started focusing on the consumption itself, and they decided not to waste the food. During the lockdown, the shortage of grocery and daily routine items made people realize their importance.
People are much more conscious now regarding not just the food but the environment in general. From food to clothes to traveling, people have become eco-friendly. They are deciding to put a thought through it. This has motivated many brands and companies to produce and sell many products which can be recycled and reused. It adds more value to the products and makes the people aware that we can make these decisions if large companies can make these decisions. Carrying this trend to 2021 has shown significant benefits to the people’s environment, economy, and health.
Relocalization
2020 gave rise to the relocalization movement. People and the government itself started supporting local farmers, local talents, and local businesses. The pandemic has made people realize that they have to keep the smaller businesses in their local area rather than supporting the big companies because they are in need. Since then, many local companies have boomed, and people benefitted too because they got great quality products at lower prices.
Similarly, one of these booming businesses was the farm back delivery. Since the pandemic in 2020, people have shifted to eating healthier and in the safest way possible. Farm box delivers directly and lets the consumers get food straight from the farms directly. The food is nutritious, it is much more convenient, the business is local, and lending support to them was essential.
Relocalization was a win-win for all. Since then, it is 2021, and people are still focused on how to get the smaller business to light. Local businesses gained global recognition, and consumers got great quality products at lower rates.
Interest In Nature
After lockdowns and feeling trapped inside, many people decided to explore nature. Sales of seeds and poultry animals rose to an all-time high. The Netflix analytics also show that people have shown the most interest in documentaries on the platform over the past year, and most of them revolve around nature. E-books about nature got many downloads as well.
People kept their hope in nature when the entire world full of technology was failing to keep people sane. It improved people’s mental health and made them productive with the time on their hands. It is 2021, and people are focused on nature and appreciation of the world we live in, in general.
Conclusion
Our lifestyle has changed since 2020 when the pandemic first hit us. Many people have chosen to make significant changes for the greater good and a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle. During times of great uncertainty, remember to open your mind to new and different lifestyles. After doing a little research, you may gain a deeper understanding of why so many are changing their ways of life.
