You Only Live Once: Present and future orientations in the time of COVID-19 as related to economics

Abstract

In this paper, we relate the concepts of “You Only Live Once,” delayed gratification, theories of persuasion as used in communication, and economics. We illustrate behavioral changes across generations and seek to explain these changes using a combined framework of communication, psychology, and economics. These concepts are then juxtaposed with the present COVID-19 crisis in terms of both health and economic implications. To provide a human face to the discussion, we describe our experiences as consumers, savers, and investors; demonstrating the application of these concepts to our own microeconomies. Philosophically speaking, a decision to do something in the present and a decision to defer something for the future are both acts of faith. We propose the use of theories of persuasion to demonstrate the risk in an overreliance on present orientation. We suggest diversification, not only in investment outlets, but also in temporal orientation, i.e., while people can and should enjoy the present, they should not do so by ignoring the future.