COVID Has Made Everyone's World More Virtual - And Threatens to Make Even the Real World More Virtual for Some

Forced to social distance by COVID, we're online in greater numbers and greater frequency than ever before. Beyond that, COVID strangely simulates the virtual world.

In one study, 86% of people who had COVID lost their sense of smell and after 60 days, 24% still had not recovered it.

It is still not clear whether the folks who permanently lose their sense of smell - and with it often the ability to distinguish tastes beyond salty and sweet - is closer to 2% or 20%.

The five classic senses are sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. A loss of one or two is disconcerting and I find it odd that more isn't said about this loss of smell and taste.

But it also makes COVID such a weird echo of the online experience. Online is all sight and sound but no taste or smell. COVID - weirdly - has the potential to make our real world seem that much more virtual, a place with sights and sounds but no aromas.