The Effect of the New Normal Policy on Individual Behaviors

Abstract

The outbreak of the Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic which has shocked not only the national scale, but the international is busy with the presence of this virus outbreak as well. This incident hinders the various activities of human life from various sectors. Therefore, the issuance of policies carried out by the government in dealing with this problem, one of which is the new normal. The new normal policy has a big impact in various lines of community life, in its handling it still needs close supervision. Many people do not understand the true meaning of new normal. This policy also resulted in changes in the structure of behaviour and conditions in society. This change is in the form of carrying out a health protocol consisting of 3M, namely using masks, washing hands with soap or hand sanitizer, and maintaining a minimum distance of 1.5 meters which not only affects him, but also has the potential to affect the surrounding environment and society at a wider scale. However, the emergence of this policy can also have an impact on the mental health of the Indonesian people. Mental health is difficult to predict, but if it happens it will have a butterfly effect. For example, such as feeling bored in doing activities in the house which is very limited to the emergence of a feeling of being buried for a long time, later it will cause unexpected things negatively like ignoring health protocols when it is time to interact outside the home. Keywords—public policy, new normal, mental health