Social Distancing — A Sociological Misnomer
I am uncomfortable with the global usage of the fancy term ‘social distancing’, which in the current COVID 19 context loosely translates to, “deliberately increasing the physical space between people.”[1] Most of us in fact learned of this phrase only through this neoteric pandemic.
However, it is not a new coinage. In sociology, the concept of ‘distance’ as applied to humans, is seen as being distinctive from spatial relations, i.e. the physical distance between two objects or people. As the former attempts to understand the intimacy which distinguishes socials and personal relations by reducing it to measurable constructs. And is used to study ethnicity, class, gender, status, and other forms of relationships that humans forge; and has been operationally used for over two decades, at least.[2] For instance, in India it would be a reminder of the history of a mandatory ‘social distancing’ between different caste groups, as a form of a discriminatory practice, alienating the lower caste groups. Whereas, in western countries, it would describe the interaction people have on the basis of their class or gender.
Hence, ‘Social’ and ‘physical’ are not the same constructs and should not be used interchangeably, as the connotation, implications, and expectations can be perceived counter-productively. This can subliminally exacerbate the mental health and well-being of social animals, who thrive on bonding with other humans and derive their sense of well-being and progress through those interconnected networks.
While the physical realm is a crucial sub-set of social relations, we are soon learning to survive without it in a globalized and digitized world. And most millennials, like me, cannot even imagine surviving this pandemic even half a century ago. To contradict me in the same breath, I am also cognizant of the fact, we are the result of six million years of evolution,[3] and adaptability is in our blood or as Jungians would call it, in our unconscious archetypical dispositions.[4], [5]
Today, we are better positioned than any of our previous generations, by virtue of knowing how to use the internet, staying connected through social media, sharing selfies and work-out videos. Millions of people are able to hold on to their jobs in this digitized world. Social media is filled with inspiration posts to encourage people to use this time to pursue what they love or get back to a long-forgotten hobby. So, where is the distance really?
Except, there is, for billions of others. From a mental health perspective, given the uncertainty related to one’s livelihood, family’s well-being, and our own productivity, this is also a conducive environment for our fears, panic, anxiety, depression (clinical or otherwise) to surface. A recent study conducted by LSR college, titled ‘“Probing Pandemic Pandemonium: A Real-Time Study of Covid-19 Stress, Coping and Psychological Consequences in India’[6] revealed how the biggest stressors for respondents (middle/upper class), were vexation with others, systemic problems and the dichotomies they were living in.
On one hand, there are celebrities with their gourmet meals, and on the other hand, you have millions of daily wage workers stranded hundreds of kilometers away from their homes, with no food, money, or shelter — the fundamental need of every human. Did the inadvertent implications of social distancing actually become a self-fulfilling prophecy for the most vulnerable?
A change in narrative or discourse may not always come from the top of the leadership, it can also be a bottom-up process, and by that I mean, educated-middle-class-up process. Because let us face it, while we all have suffered in the last couple of months, everybody reading this article is privileged and will never have to face the double catastrophe the vulnerable groups are facing.
While, some would argue that intrinsically humans are self-serving creatures and would put their needs first[7], as seen with the massive hoarding of food and other essentials, in many parts of the world. Some would rationalize those anomalies in behaviors as a result of fear, unawareness, and perhaps some distrust of the leadership. There are many, many more examples of exemplary humans who are dedicating their time, health, and sacrificing their families to be of help to those whose livelihoods have been uprooted, outside of government.
The African approach to life of ‘Ubuntu’[8] can show us the way. Can we imagine leading a happy, fulfilled life when our surroundings are torn and there is despair all around? This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of crisis and we need to be as closely connected to each other, as possible. Even in dysfunctional settings like lockdowns, we can still find ways to reach out to our domestic help, security watchmen, their families; the disabled, the elderly, and single parents around us and let them know that they are not alone in this and we are there to support them, in cash and kind.
Thus, cooperation and compassion are crucial to collective well-being, and the internalization of the phrase ‘social distancing’ is certainly a misnomer here. This pandemic is not only a test for humanity but also of humanity. Our governments, doctors, scientists, healthcare staff, police forces, frontline workers, charity organizations, and religious places are risking their lives to take care of others. And while there is very little we can do in our capacities, we can always support them by extending our gratitude to help those we can at our individual levels.
As experts project that ‘social distancing’ can last for one year[9], remind yourself that it is only physical distancing — as the former can insidiously harm us and potentially alienate us from ‘others’. The only hope is that more people wake up to this differentiation. Perhaps this small change in nomenclature and perception can help us shift the thinking to a more comprehensive understanding of humans and their environments.
Thus, let us strive to become even more connected socially and digitally, and limit ourselves only to physical distancing.
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Citations Links -
[1]The fashionable history of social distancing. https://theconversation.com/the-fashionable-history-of-social-distancing-134464
[2] Park 1924: 339 as cited in Ethington, P. J. “The Intellectual Construction of “Social Distance”: Toward a Recovery of Georg Simmel’s Social Geometry”. https://journals.openedition.org/cybergeo/227?lang=en
[3]Introduction to Human Evolution. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. http://humanorigins.si.edu/education/introduction-human-evolution
[4] Walters, S. Algorithms and archetypes: Evolutionary psychology and Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/1061736194900132
[5] Abstracts of the Collected Works of C.G. Jung
. The Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious. International Association for Analytical Psychology. Volume 9.1 https://iaap.org/resources/academic-resources/collected-works-abstracts/volume-9-1-archetypes-collective-unconscious/
[6] Delhi lockdown: Essentials not the biggest headache. April 2020. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/essentials-not-the-biggest-headache/articleshow/75074328.cms
[7] How selfish are people really. https://hbr.org/1989/05/how-selfish-are-people-really
[8] I am because we are. Africa and the World. https://www.africaw.com/african-philosophy-ubuntu-a-way-of-life
[9] COVID-19 crisis: Need social distancing for one year, says PHFI’s Dr K Srinath Reddy. https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/health/covid-19-crisis-need-social-distancing-for-one-year-says-phfi-president-srinath-reddy/1934568/
