Due to the long lasting impact of COVID-19, our lives are changing. One of the most noticeable changes is through the emergence of an ‘untact’ culture.
Untact is a newly coined term that combines the negative form ‘Un’ with a derived form of the word ‘contact’. In other words, untact culture refers to the purchasing of goods or the use of services without direct human contact.
Due to COVID-19, various forms of untact culture are spreading throughout our lives. For example, watching non-face-to-face performances, non-face-to-face online lectures, and drive-through entry of the army. To find out more about these cultural changes, The Seowon News asked for the opinions of students at Seowon University.
One student responded positively to the emergence of untact culture, by saying “Many unnecessary gatherings have disappeared, and people can enjoy types of culture with people through the internet”. Also, another student said “People can spend their leisure time more efficiently because they can enjoy the untact culture everywhere”.
However, as a disadvantage, one student said, “We have to wear masks anytime, anywhere, and too many things we want to do, such as leisure activities and sports, are restricted”. Another student said, “As classes have switched to online non-face lectures, there is a lack of quality in learning”.
Furthermore, various stories came along with negative opinions such as “For self-employed people conducting business will be more difficult, and the economic damage substantial.” and “As a student studying education, the untact culture is likely to make it harder for the life of those teaching, and I think I have to look for new leisure activities rather than those that I originally enjoyed”.
On the other hand, unique examples of untact culture which students have experienced include interviews for the current college entrance exam being conducted through Zoom and professional sports games broadcast live through Zoom. Also, at a non-face-to-face concert, the singer performed on a stage where he or she could not see the audience, but could hear the sound of the audience through the Internet and cameras. Through examples such as these, we can see that untact culture is already a part of our lives.
Beginning with the changes being brought about by untact culture, it is important for us to adapt well to further changes which COVID-19 may bring.
