5 Ways Omicron Has Changed How We Socialize Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

​5 Ways Omicron Is Changing the Way We Socialize

The highly contagious variant has altered decisions about how we interact

Getty Images Blame it on . That’s what Lori Gladstone has been doing this year in deciding how to socialize while the variant’s virulent transmissibility looms. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Gladstone, of Plainview, New York, went to a late-January bridal shower for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, but her sister didn’t attend because of omicron. Yet Gladstone, 62, and her husband had declined an invitation to a 60th-birthday party in Atlanta on March 12. Traveling that close to the March 26 wedding was a risk they didn’t want to take. Such decisions seemed more straightforward last year, when cases ebbed and Gladstone traveled on planes, ate inside restaurants and felt comfortable in crowds when wearing a mask. But omicron’s arrival made her realize that no matter what she does, there’s always a risk. “I do feel like at some point we’re all going to get omicron,” says Gladstone, a paralegal. She says she knows many people who, despite precautions, . “It’s not like they’ve been doing anything reckless.” Gladstone isn’t alone in altering the way she socializes and makes decisions about socializing amid the omicron surge. For some, particularly the vaccinated and boosted, a bit of fatalism has entered the social space, and they may be willing to be out and about in ways they weren’t earlier in the pandemic. For others, after a respite over the summer, omicron has sent them back into “hunker down” mode. In our constantly changing pandemic dynamic, omicron is shifting the way we socialize in five big ways.

1 Testing before social gatherings is becoming the norm

Milestone birthdays and anniversaries celebrated with family and friends were often virtual in 2020, with in-person gatherings gaining ground last year as vaccines and boosters allayed fears. This year, with omicron dominant, social psychologist Beverley Fehr, of the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada, says that “at some social gatherings, the host will require that people .” “They’re gathering in person but trying to do it in a safer manner,” Fehr explains. are becoming easier to get, especially since the government is to those who sign up for them.

2 Social distancing and masking are back for some people

Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > A Gallup survey conducted in January reflects behavioral changes because of omicron. Of 1,569 adults surveyed about behavior during the previous week, (34 percent) avoided small gatherings, up from previous surveys; 56 percent avoided large crowds; and 41 percent avoid public places, including stores and restaurants. The survey notes that the impact of omicron means “many have reverted to social distancing behaviors last employed when the pandemic was at its worst.” With the variant spreading widely, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on January 14 updated its guidance, saying offer the “highest protection” against COVID-19. Another survey of 1,161 adults released in late January by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reflects due to omicron. More respondents reported avoiding other people as much as possible, staying away from large groups and wearing masks around others than they did in December.

3 Hugs might be on hold

, but omicron dashed that sign of warmth and support. Now, experts say, you should ask before embracing anyone and wait for an answer. “There are distinctly different types of reactions in terms of people’s assessment of risk and consequent behavior according to how much risk they feel,” says psychologist David Cates, director of behavioral health for Omaha-based Nebraska Medicine. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe More on home-family AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS