I guess that's a possibility, but there could also be other logical reasons for these changes. In my area, kids are still outside playing (and walking to and from school), a lot of people walk around outside recreationally, and church services are twice on Sunday and Wednesdays.

Life is always changing, sometimes for the better, sometimes not, and Covid was simply a more focused trigger for those changes than we normally experience.

I think its the digital world. My son will only play outside when i step in the say enough of screen time. Yesterday was an example. Hebwould had riden a bike if wasn't for not having company, he likes to be with others, thats his nature.
Sure, the world is afraid, but not just that. Kids are constantly on the screen.
My neighbors are also out and about with their dogs, or just exercising. I even wonder if they work because it seems to be throughout the day. Perhaps again its the digital world. Everyone works from home, flexible eschedule. I'm in Austin, TX.

I live in Floriduh, I wish most people here would just shut the fuck up, instead they blab stupidly yakking all the time incessantly, fuck that shit!

It depends on where you are. Before covid, my neighborhood had about 400 kids on Halloween. I am scared to death so I did not give out candy on Monday, but I heard from a neighbor that we had 700 kids. When I drive past the local park there are plenty of kids playing there and a lots of people walking, biking and running. I think more people walk in my neighborhood than before the pandemic. I live in the "Live Free or Die" state so it is mandated that people not be scared to death.

Nothing highlights this more than hitchhiking. The fact is that it has never been safer to hitchhike than today. You can photograph the licence plate and driver then send it to a 3rd party. Similarly, the driver can ask for ID and do the same. Yet you seldom see a hitchhiker (at least in the UK) because everybody says it is less safe nowadays.

Maybe it's a geographical thing. Where I live, there are so many people outside taking walks and bike rides that it's almost like a freeway. Kids sports are back in full program. I feel perfectly safe walking around my neighborhood after dark and I do that quite often.

It may be that in my state there are very few guns, we have lots of gathering places outdoors, and there is an encouragement of friendliness, almost as a habit or custom.

Those in climates where outdoor temps are not comfortable likely will see more people staying indoors in their own homes, where it surely is safer from covid and flu, as well as violence being exaggerated by some "news" sources. People got a habit for staying in an entertaining themselves online and with TV, which is a hard habit to break.

I keep in more than I used to -- I don't attend indoor concerts and other crowded places out of concern for my own health, not fear but wisdom. It isn't a big sacrifice for me to say "no" to some events and invitations, as I'm happy on my own and limit my interaction with people as a rule anyway, because I'm an introvert. But when I do go out and mingle with friends and acquaintances, I know I'm safe, they know I'm safe, and they respect my desire to keep my health intact at this time.

I've heard "November" is a good month for saying "No" to crowded gatherings which is what I'm doing to keep myself healthy for my visit with family over Thanksgiving. That's a sacrifice I'm happy to make for my own benefit as well as for others I plan to snuggle and hug in a few weeks.

The GOP and their robots have undertaken a concerted campaign of fear and terrorism to bring out their voters. Every crime is reported in graphic detail. Almost no one admits that this is what has been going on. And yet, they always over-do it. Some portion of the population get this, and resent the cruel manipulation. Truth is, crime has gone way, way, way down as those who would have been raised as unwanted children, were aborted instead.

That is America. I was amazed when I was there the first time how very few people walked around their neighborhood just for the sake of a nice walk. That was a very long time ago, around 30 years. Seems like it has gotten even worse what you are describing. Such a shame.

Fear or such is not the big player, But the Internet.
our lifestyle changed, recently more and faster than before. We order food online, meet each other online, shop online, explore the world online,... etc
Nowadays Kids play and communicate online... for them, street still is there outside, but behind the screens of devices. they explore and experience all online.
Even Us... every day we're here sharing and communicating... consider this platform or such like an old-fashion cafe or bar...
Good or bad, This's today's Reality. Covid just made this process even faster than before.

I’ve encountered some very politically charged conversations recently, both indirect and direct. Seems this sort of thing can come unsolicited out of nowhere. So maybe people at the laundromat are hesitant to engage others for fear of hearing a politically charged diatribe.

The pandemic surely has played some role in isolation and reticence to engage. But there could be an opposite tendency while COVID has been on the wane to become super social in making up for lost time.

People may also get siloed by social media and their smartphones. Instead of seeking face to face real time engagement they sit and wait for their clothes reading stuff on their screens to pass the time. Here I am posting to Agnostic when I could be doing other things like my laundry.

Fear changed the landscape. The further Americans go down the rabbit hole of fear mongering, lies and bullshit I hear and see from the far right the more like an authoritarian nation we will become. It was always racist around here but it really started to be more open when trump was put in the WH.
When the Covid pandemic started it took off like wild fire. Even tho there was very low rates in my county the push back against Asians was already in full swing with the racist trumpers in this area comin' into their own. Ellensburg has the Central Washington University, it's diversity is what I love about the campus. But by May NONE of the Asian students I'd see while riding my bike around campus would look at me. Eyes down no looking around or speaking to anyone. The Latino woman who has garden plots at the community garden we both garden at was experiencing more stink eyes and nasty comments. fox news is the main "news" show that is watched.
The talk radio station spouts the vile crap when it's not airing a Mariners, Seahawks or local football game. It definitely does make my ventures out of the apartment way less fun.

Whatever keeps me from having to deal with people.

My conclusion is in line with your conclusion; fear is the cause for the changes you have noticed and mentioned. Fear; perceived or real has the same effect on the brain…

If you live in a decent sized neighborhood you'll still lots of people walking around, mostly homeless people though. The land skape is different now from what it used to be even when I was a kid. Kids can't explore around much anymore without riding through the streets. There are still parks but it's not the same.