Social Distancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Pros and Cons

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My research paper is based on the thesis, “While some people argue that social distance helps society by reducing the spread of COVID-19, I believe that social distancing diminishes affection. It limits physical connection and leads to emotional separation.” The human race has been a social group with an inbuilt longing for sociological attachments. From the time children are born, they always crave social adjustments that make them yearn to remain in unity with other people. This cord of unity remains intact regardless of the challenges of the day (Sun et al. 506). This norm makes many families observe periodic meetings in the form of family get-togethers either during festive seasons, holiday breaks, or during duty offs. It has never been the practice of humanity to embrace social distancing.

The emergence of the global pandemic, namely COVID-19 brought with it the challenges that demand social distancing regardless of the long-time practiced norms. Many people were seen breaching the government rules to attend burial ceremonies and mourn with the bereaved families in most countries across the globe. This practice has always brought together different people of various cadres and age groups; humans are closely tied despite the rules that are meant to safeguard their well-being.

The reason for choosing this topic of social distancing is twofold. Primarily because it touches the facets of daily life, as demonstrated by the global pandemic in various parts of the country. Second being its logical predominance and the effect it has experienced after the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic. Some sources including articles, journals, and publications will be used to demonstrate the theme. The discussions are drawn mainly from the study of psychosocial effects during home confinement and orientation during the time of social distancing journals as well as other articles.

The psychological effects of communication during COVID-19 confinements revealed both success and failures of communication as means of closing the social gap among people. Online communication was a means to mitigate loneliness as more people were forced to work remotely using electronic gadgets such as computers and smart devices. Online social platforms became more and more famous. This became a safer contact medium where telecommunication was more operational. The risk of spread of the disease was much reduced, and there was increased confidence among workmates and family’s interaction. However, the lockdown loneliness where most people used to commune, interact physically, and hang out together could not be eradicated by online communication.

Many workers have been deprived of the peace outside the home they once enjoyed in the public space. Notably, online communication was limited to online digitalized members of the society who are the minority. A great number of people in society not only lack electronic gadgets but they as well have little or no skills in using them optimally. The emotional trauma of attending social events such as weddings through online platforms kept off a vast majority of the society who in the past participated to the utmost hence joy in the society (Bastoni et al. 78). These determinants go a long way to justify that social distancing limits physical connection and emotional separation.

Loneliness is connected to poor cognitive performance, low self-esteem, and mental problems. This has resulted in increased cases of domestic violence and quarrels among neighbors. A positive behavior has been associated with social distancing where people have now been able to develop new skills during their indoor seasons such as baking, flower, and tree management (Cameron and Tenenbaum 235). The detrimental effects on many households associated with sexual abuses, violence, drug abuse, and many more social ills associated with lockdown idleness cannot be underestimated. Due to the pressure of demands upon many breadwinners and yet with little to go in handy, it has been the major cause of depression. Because of these, it indeed depicts more and more emotional separation and reduced affection among the members of the society. The research by Cameron on “Lessons from developmental science to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions” further associated the lockdown with the eating of junk foods which poses greater risks of contracting lifestyle diseases that have long time effects on the social health framework (Cameron and Tenenbaum 236). The anxiety and boredom associated with the lockdown have been a major catalyst to high food consumption, which in turn impacts negatively on health. Furthermore, the panic associated with the unawareness of what would happen next has led to many stockpiling essential foodstuffs, hence leading to the spiking of commodity prices, and this, in turn, affects the purchasing power of the poorer communities and therefore cascading more and more economic imbalances.

Many people relocated to rural areas where life was more manageable, unlike in the urban cities, due to loss of livelihood. This, in turn, adds more pressure among the family members who have to compete for the meagre resources among themselves. The management of lifestyle disorders, as well as depression associated with the lockdown, is not easy, bearing in mind that the government has diverted the attention to the management of COVID-19 related problems leaving fewer funds to manage the other disorders. This breakdown in the quality of health and poor living standards is yet another reason that adds weight to the effects that isolation, separation, and social distancing have impacted in society (Ammar et al. 86). Human beings are created with the disposition to exercise their sense faculties through exposure to a variety of stimuli in the day-to-day lives. This impacts heavily on decision-making processes limiting their effectiveness. The withdrawal from the public to the world of online living deprives humanity of the necessary stimulation to activate the senses (Cameron and Tenenbaum 231). As is the scientific law of use and disuse, when men are called upon to use their inactive senses, they may find they are not able to open up due to the numbness that may be created with long seasons of disuse. People are prohibited from touching surfaces that may be infected. The use of the sense of touch and taste has been of use in the past in the medical field to treat depression and hence healing. The trauma resulting from the laws that prohibit the use of these important faculties is a major point that confirms my argument that, indeed, social distancing has diminished affection, brought physical separation and emotional breakdown.

The Ministry of Health and the government authorities have enforced recommendations and measures in various forms such as lockdowns, travel restrictions, and curfews. While the aim of these restrictions was to prevent the spread of infection, they had the unintended consequence of restricting involvement in regular daily activities. Several states, cities, and countries are imposing laws that reduce the amount of time people can spend participating in outdoor sports activities, athletics, fitness centers, social gatherings, and dances, or have outright banned them. Such limitations harm public health and jeopardize physical activity, which is essential for improving immunity and the ability to cope with or resist infections. (Ammar et al. 36). This may further pose a danger in the management of immunologic conditions. The ban of physical activities and sports in schools, assembly meetings, and group projects have brought in sedentary behavior among school-going children may have long-term effects on their health. If this was to go by, then social distance has indeed brought about physical separation and affection.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the collapse of many businesses and careers. The worst-hit experienced in the tourism and the hotel and hospitality industries. These businesses directly rely on physical contacts, unlike others that may survive by online methods. Many retailers and traders in sales and marketing have been affected through shifting marketing trends, changing demand, and supply chains. When many individuals lose their sources of livelihoods and are left with the hopeless burden of servicing loans and meeting the production costs, this contributes to the poverty levels in the public space (Cameron and Tenenbaum232). The loss of contact through social distance regulations which are necessary for the undertaking of these business enterprises have impacted the economy heavily. This is why the argument that social distance has brought physical separation, emotional separation, and reduced affection holds.

The contribution by Cameron in the journal entitled “Lessons from developmental science to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions on social development” is crucial in supporting the argument presented in this paper. The various efforts to mitigate the spread of the pandemic has in the process birthed up the menace of profiteering. As a result of increase in necessities for infection prevention during the Pandemic, various agencies and organizations have taken advantage of the donations in the form of hand sanitizers, gloves, and personal protective equipment to commercialize them for private gain. This presents an ethical issue that has left many needy citizens in need of these basic necessities but unable to access them. In some countries, there has been an escalation of these complaints calling for public prosecution of the offenders. The process of administering justice in the law courts is a mountainous task based on the fact that the judicial proceedings are conducted online. The process of consolidating important documents for just ruling cannot be an easy task since the operations are limited to paperless and off the working station. Due to the upsurge of infections, the accused are released on bonds to minimize more contacts of inmates in the prisons due to the need to keep social distance. This has therefore hampered the administration of justice and helped to soothe corrupt cartels. The social distance has therefore brought physical separation and hence emotional stress.

The threat that has been brought by the increasing rates of infections has brought fears, and people tend to be more suspicious and more vulnerable. When closed out and have limited interaction with those friends or families who would offer solace during confusing moments, this has indeed worsened the situation. The uncertainty and restlessness waiting for the day when the ban will be lifted lowers productivity and deadens the zeal for outdoor work. It will demand a new orientation of the mindset to refocus the human race to the changing dynamics of living patterns and behavior (Cameron and Tenenbaum 234). Surely social distance in society has brought physical separation with detrimental effects.

It has been a common practice when ailing members of society are visited by friends and relatives, encouraged and comforted as they go through their healing process. After the emergence of the global pandemic of COVID-19, this norm has been long forgotten. The government has put in measures to isolate infected members as well as quarantine those that interacted with the sick. Authorities are now forced to keep away desperate relatives who insist on checking the welfare of their relatives. While it is a positive move to curtail the spread of the deadly virus through contact, this has increased the trauma all the more. Many friends and relatives can only communicate remotely by telephone calls or video calls. The feeling of love that is experienced by close associates in times of trouble is no more. This only worsens the tension of curious family friends and the longing of the sick relatives (Green and Moran 173). Because of this, it can be said that the well-intended social distance has aggravated the physical distancing and emotional separation all the more.

Social media has now become the heart of interpersonal communication between peers, learners, and teachers, as well as the work sphere. This has indeed made the work easier, more innovations in technology have been realized. Social media has incredibly transformed learning and socialization in a new world of interaction altogether. Many learners can enjoy the once boring classroom attention, and many people have developed new skills in information technology. This, however, has brought in other social ills with it. Social media may have made learning easier but cannot replace the need for physical connection. Many students, out of the urge for exploration, have ventured into dark zones of immoral behaviors such as pornography, where there have been moral decay and degradation (Green and Moran 175). This reflects a gap created by lack of physical connection causing the youth to seek attention and satisfaction in vile activities such as drug abuse. There have been increasing cases of teenage pregnancies across many African counties. The idleness and increased freedom to access the Internet have been the main undoing. Morality has always been the core of societal living. The rot that results from this excessive freedom is grievous, from teenage pregnancies, drug abuse, sexual abuses, introduction to gangs, and many others. The pain result of this venture by society cannot be underestimated, although the internet is all the more celebratory.

Social and community health workers are known to always visit and attend to vulnerable groups such as those affected by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Tuberculosis (TB). These groups require attention in diet monitoring, hygiene, and mental health support. Various programs are put into place to attend to them as well as raise projects that help them to obtain livelihoods. These programs involve contact where they come together in a group and medical check-ups (Gonzalez-Bernal et al. 65). Where social distancing comes into place, many of these victims have found it difficult to attend clinics for fear of infection as well as attending the groups and livelihood improvement projects. This can only worsen their predicaments due to the loss of the warmth that they receive through their contact fellowshipping with each other. This would mean that their survival will be at stake. On this note, it can be said that social distance has broken the necessary bond of physical contact and brought emotional separation.

In conclusion, social distancing that has been brought by the restrictions that are meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 has both advantages yet has brought with it several demerits. The well-meaning strategy and regulation have brought up a great level of loss of physical connection, add up to emotional separation, and dim, finish affection through the various aspects hereby discussed. This has been expressed through the loss of the physical touch during times of grief, sickness, diminishing solidarity, loss of self-esteem, depression, moral degradation, sexual abuse and violence, loss of human affection, dullness of sensual faculties of touch, and general withdrawal from the public.

Given the consequences, both short-term and long-term, which are brought about by complex generated touch-related problems, there is a call for further research. It is recommended that further study be conducted on this subject to have a balanced view and approach. As science and technology continue advancing, lives are affected by new changes and the emergence of epidemics. Government agencies need to collaborate with private enterprises to develop solutions that will ensure effective and adaptive measure to deal with pandemics in future. These measures should also limit the profiteering ability of individual enterprises. The main goal is to ensure that in future, programs designed to address pandemics do not limit society’s social-cultural development. Looking at the examples presented in this essay, scientific research will help make lives better by bringing solutions to the physical and emotional separation brought by the COVID-19.

Works Cited

Ammar, Achraf, et al. “Effects Of COVID-19 Home Confinement On Eating Behaviour And Physical Activity: Results Of The ECLB-COVID19 International Online Survey”. Nutrients, vol 12, no. 6, 2020, p. 1583. MDPI AG.

Bastoni, Sofia, et al. “Psychosocial Effects And Use Of Communication Technologies During Home Confinement In The First Wave Of The COVID-19 Pandemic In Italy And The Netherlands”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol 18, no. 5, 2021, p. 2619. MDPI AG.

Cameron, Lindsey, and Harriet R. Tenenbaum. “Lessons from Developmental Science to Mitigate the Effects of the COVID-19 Restrictions on Social Development”. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, vol. 24, no. 2, 2021, pp. 231-236. SAGE Publications.

Gonzalez-Bernal, Jerónimo J., et al. “Life Satisfaction during Forced Social Distancing and Home Confinement Derived From the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, no. 4, 2021, p. 1474. MDPI AG.

Green, Lorraine, and Lisa Moran. “Covid-19, Social Distancing and the ‘Scientisation’ of Touch: Exploring the Changing Social and Emotional Contexts of Touch and Their Implications for Social Work.” Qualitative Social Work, vol. 20, no. 1–2, 2021, pp. 171–178.

Sun, Qing Zhou, et al. “Increased Social Distance Makes People More Risk-Neutral”. The Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 157, no. 4, 2016, pp. 502-512. Informal UK Limited.

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Social Distancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Pros and Cons

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