Human behavior is notoriously difficult to change, but a disruption of the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to bring about long-term behavioral changes. During the pandemic, people have been forced to experience new ways of interacting, working, learning, shopping, traveling, and eating meals. A critical question going forward is how these experiences have actually changed preferences and habits in ways that might persist after the pandemic ends. Many observers have suggested theories about what the future will bring, but concrete evidence has been lacking. We present evidence on how much US adults expect their own postpandemic choices to differ from their prepandemic lifestyles in the areas of telecommuting, restaurant patronage, air travel, online shopping, transit use, car commuting, uptake of walking and biking, and home location. The analysis is based on a nationally representative survey dataset collected between July and October 2020. Key findings include that the “new normal” will feature a doubling of telecommuting, reduced air travel, and improved quality of life for some.

众所周知，人类行为难以改变，但 COVID-19 大流行规模的破坏有可能带来长期的行为改变。在大流行期间，人们被迫体验新的互动、工作、学习、购物、旅行和用餐方式。未来的一个关键问题是，这些经历实际上如何以可能在大流行结束后持续存在的方式改变了偏好和习惯。许多观察家提出了有关未来将带来什么的理论，但一直缺乏具体的证据。我们提供的证据表明，美国成年人在远程办公、餐厅光顾、航空旅行、网上购物、公交使用、汽车通勤、步行和骑自行车等领域希望自己的大流行后选择与大流行前生活方式有多大不同，和家的位置。该分析基于在 2020 年 7 月至 10 月期间收集的具有全国代表性的调查数据集。主要发现包括“新常态”的特点是远程办公增加一倍，航空旅行减少，一些人的生活质量提高。