It’s no surprise that social distancing has suddenly become part of our everyday vocabulary, considering that close human-to-human contact maximizes the spread of the coronavirus. In the last month, this concept has blown up on social media and has evolved into a social norm – keep your distance in public (at least six feet although now at least one researcher has found some droplets from coughing or sneezing can travel up to 20 feet). In many cases, complying with this norm is no longer voluntary; rather it’s compulsory and violations are increasingly apt to be treated as serious in the U.S. and throughout the world.
It all sounds so new, doesn’t it? A recent article in The Washington Post states “social distance” was introduced by health officials toward the end of February, when the implications of COVID-19 were just starting to hit home in the U.S. And yet we know that Emory Bogardus, a sociologist, created something called the social distance scale almost a century ago. Only Bogardus had something a little different in mind.
To Dr. Bogardus, social distance wasn’t simply measured in feet. Rather, this idea referred to how much we identify with a group, or perceive we share in common with an individual. Bogardus reasoned the more we keep someone at a “distance,” the less likely it is we might be willing to marry, befriend, or work closely with that person. Many years ago, this scale was used to assess people’s feelings toward immigrants. Results showed Hindus and Muslims were not very welcome in this country. Canadians, on the other, were separated by much less social distance.
Some critics of the medical term social distance say a more appropriate term might be geographical distance. Bogardus knew that social and geographic distance don’t necessarily go hand in hand. We might be miles away from someone but maintain our emotional closeness. Similarly, Bogardus argued that physical closeness doesn’t ensure emotional intimacy.
Right now, we’re being encouraged to avoid being up-close and personal in public or small groups. In essence, we’re being told to maintain physical distance outside of our homes. As the virus gets worse, more and more people are adhering to this norm.
Increasingly, we understand the upside and downside of social isolation. It’s worth noting that some groups and individuals have long felt the sting of social distance, due to reasons that have nothing to do with the spread of a virus. Rather, social outsiders in the U.S., groups such as Chinese, Muslims, African Americans, the autistic, or the transgender community have all battled social segregation, prejudice, and isolation throughout our nation’s history. For many of us, it’s temporary. For others, it will continue long after we have found a cure for COVID-19.
Links to more from Dr. Bucher:
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