COVID-19 forced us to adapt

I still remember the cancellation of the back-to-school notice I received in 2020 before the Chinese New Year holiday and communities getting locked down, forcing us all to stay at home. High school courses were converted to online courses, and online classes and homework completion were unfamiliar to everyone, so this was a busy time for me.  Although most of the work and learning was transferred offline, the PCR tests and partial isolation continued, which greatly impacted the lives of people across the country.

 Yet this crisis also sparked a reckoning that could redefine our economic future. The pandemic accelerated the shift to remote work, opening global opportunities for the tech-savvy; e-commerce and digital education sectors grew by 32% and 19% respectively in 2020, per Statista, creating new career paths unthinkable before 2020. My generation learned to adapt. We launched side hustles, upskilled in coding and digital marketing, and rejected the “job for life” myth in favor of flexible, resilient livelihoods.

 COVID-19 didn’t steal our economic future—it destroyed the fragile, outdated system that was already failing us. Instead of mourning the old normal, we must build a more inclusive economy that prioritises remote work equity, invests in youth training for green and digital industries and strengthens social safety nets to shield future generations from shocks.