Why Do We Romanticize the First Lockdown?

As we enter the one year mark of the coronavirus pandemic, I can’t help but notice a romanticization of the first lockdown. There was confusion, fear, and disorder across the globe during those times. But in our homes we sang, danced and held onto hope. Undoubtedly, things look a lot different this year in comparison to when the pandemic began. But why do we romanticize a time that was still ‘unprecedented’ for all of us? Rosy retrospection could play a big factor. 

According to a chapter from Advances in Managerial Cognition and Organizational Information Processing, rosy retrospection is, “the tendency for people to remember and recollect events they experience more fondly and positively than they evaluated them to be at the time of their occurrence.” 

This phenomenon has been occurring a lot as we reached the one year anniversary of the pandemic. A major reason being that we perceived that lockdowns and restrictions were limited. There weren’t any expectations of the pandemic far beyond a few weeks.

We reminisce on the abundance of activities (such as baking, painting or binge watching) and free time we had during the first lockdown. We were also introduced to zoom and other online platforms; a new way to attend big milestones or simply contact your loved ones. 

The media around us fuels this idea as well. It can be hard to escape the past especially as a growing number of tv shows and movies are incorporating the pandemic into their storylines. Some are incorporating it into their existing storylines (like Grey’s Anatomy or Shameless) while others are based entirely around the pandemic (like Connecting… or Locked Down). These raise the question of whether or not we want to relive through that period again, but this time in a fictional setting. 

Additionally, videos romanticizing the first lockdown have also been popular on TikTok recently. A large portion of the younger generation connected on Tiktok through trends, dances, and music last year, adding to the rising popularity of the app. A coping mechanism or not, it allowed people a sense of unity and a creative outlet both then and now. 

While we had plenty of activities to keep us entertained during the first lockdown, it’s important to reflect back on the delicate situation of the world at the time. Honoring the frontline heroes and significant figures, such as doctors, nurses, teachers and more. And remembering those who we lost to Covid-19. It’s also important to highlight, while many of us may not have our lives severely impacted due to the pandemic, many people have struggled tremendously during the past year. Although it certainly isn’t harmful to remember good memories that may have happened during the past year, rosy retrospection should not undermine the other impact the pandemic has had on our world collectively. 

We should also remember that the pandemic is not over yet and that it’s still important to be careful, protecting ourselves and others. However there is no harm in having fun to get through difficult times more easily.

• COVID-19
• lockdown