Risk tolerance (222/365)

[white_hart]

I had an email recently from an academic who said how nice it was to be able to do the things that they hadn't been able to for ages - theatres! bookshops! pub lunches! - which left me thinking how nice it would be to do those things, but I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable going to a theatre at the moment, or anywhere where I would be spending more than a few minutes indoors with people I don't know. I am OK with going into shops, and have considered going to a bookshop, but given how high case numbers have been it felt a bit frivolous when I don't actually need any more books*, and might well not actually buy anything.

I know that I am pretty risk-averse, and it's also been long enough that I've almost forgotten what it was like to do those things; doing them now would feel strange and new, which would require more impetus than I can muster up in the face of ongoing pandemic "is it actually safe to do this?" anxiety. I do wonder whether I am being excessively risk-averse, though I don't get the sense that many of my friends are doing much more than I am.

Anyway, this is really just a preamble to a poll!

Poll #26014

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 64

View Respondents

I live in the UK, and I would currently:

View Answers

use public transport to commute
18 (37.5%)

use public transport for leisure purposes
21 (43.8%)

have a drink at a pub or cafe - indoors
17 (35.4%)

have a drink at a pub or cafe - outdoors
39 (81.2%)

have a meal at a pub, cafe or restaurant - indoors
20 (41.7%)

have a meal at a pub, cafe or restaurant - outdoors
36 (75.0%)

go to a shop for essential purchases (however you define essential)
45 (93.8%)

go to a shop for non-essential purchases/to browse
24 (50.0%)

go to the theatre
8 (16.7%)

go to the cinema
7 (14.6%)

meet friends in an outdoor public place
44 (91.7%)

meet friends in a garden
46 (95.8%)

meet friends in your or their house
35 (72.9%)

I wouldn't do any of these things
1 (2.1%)

I live outside the UK, and I would currently:

View Answers

use public transport to commute
8 (50.0%)

use public transport for leisure purposes
6 (37.5%)

have a drink at a pub or cafe - indoors
1 (6.2%)

have a drink at a pub or cafe - outdoors
9 (56.2%)

have a meal at a pub, cafe or restaurant - indoors
1 (6.2%)

have a meal at a pub, cafe or restaurant - outdoors
8 (50.0%)

go to a shop for essential purchases (however you define essential)
15 (93.8%)

go to a shop for non-essential purchases/to browse
5 (31.2%)

go to the theatre
0 (0.0%)

go to the cinema
2 (12.5%)

meet friends in an outdoor public place
13 (81.2%)

meet friends in a garden
13 (81.2%)

meet friends in your or their house
9 (56.2%)

I wouldn't do any of these things
1 (6.2%)

*at the moment my kindle TBR pile appears to be going through a significant growth phase

Comments

[caulkhead]

"My answers to the above things that involve public indoor spaces are also predicated on how crowded it is."

Yes, this. I'm not totally *happy* about getting the train to commute to work, mind - I don't mind leisure so much because that way I can choose quieter times to travel - and I'll skip shops, restaurants etc if they look too full. The reason I feel uneasy about theatre/cinema is you can't really tell in advance how crowded they are. I'm not sure how logical any of this is, but risk behaviour rarely is, IME.

Also, although I have said I would in theory do most things, I have only started doing so in the last month, and am in practice doing them very, very infrequently, if at all.

[white_hart]

I feel similarly - I'd quite like to start getting the bus to and from work again, rather than driving, but the queues I pass at bus stops make me fear that the buses would be busier than I'm comfortable with.