I think it’s fair to say that most people are spending more time on their own, or at least more time with the same few people. There are less face-to-face interactions with a wider network of friends, colleagues, strangers on commutes or in shops. So what is this doing to us?
We’re in a collective moment. Collectively pitching in to reduce infection, collectively giving voice to those who’ve been silenced, collectively supporting our economy by eating out more, taking pay cuts or job cuts. We do this whilst constantly calculating risks to ourselves and those close to us. Meet a friend for dinner for a sanity boost, but weigh in an infection risk. It’s no wonder that we’re tired of having to make these constant micro-risk assessments and adjustments, constantly having to shush any concerns from our own head and others. Depression could easily be on the rise because depression is stopping us from going outside and exposing ourselves to risk. What’s the point of thriving, if you haven’t survived? Is this an extreme reaction? No one knows without hindsight. No one knows what their immunity’s like, no one knows how their body will respond, no one knows the impact on those around them. So the safest bet is to stay in, stay away.
But that’s physically. Do we also need to retreat mentally, emotionally?
We’re lazy. It’s easy for our brain to just blanket agree, by executive order, to not do ‘outside’. But there is the danger that we spiral into a meltdown. We are social animals. We need others to actually recognise our own existence, to find meaning and purpose day-to-day.
What do you think ‘identity’ means? Is it about individuality, uniqueness? The word originates from the latin ‘idem’ meaning same. It is about the quality of being the same. I think we’re fuelled by finding sameness in our connections, where each of those nodes, those individuals in our networks, show us who we are. We reflect each other’s values, interests, quirks and goals. So when we retreat, silence follows.
As much as might be Zoom fatigued, 2D fatigued, we need to keep putting ourselves out there, striving for connections that will reflect back on us and remind us who we are.
