A New Normal?

"Social distancing" has meant for many of us an increase in media consumption.  For me, at this time of heightened sensitivity about human contact, it has been interesting how viscerally I react to a scene in which there are a lot of people in an enclosed space, or even the more mundane act of shaking hands.  Not unlike how some people watch movies or shows from a generation ago and freak out at how little kids were allowed to just play outside by themselves.  Will we look back on movies and shows that feature normal human contact with similar fear or awe?  Let's hope not.

However, some are saying that, no matter how this global pandemic plays out, maybe this ushers in a new normal around teleworking and other forms of remote engagement.  To be sure, the technology is there to do this, and for many people, being able to log into work (or school or church or even a club) is preferred or even necessary.  I certainly don't want to begrudge folks from using technology to make connections and be productive.  

But I hope that my takeaway from all of this isn't that we should just keep doing things remotely even after we don't have to, but rather that we should get back to doing things in person and make sure that folks for whom that is harder to do are not lost in the connection.  Because at the risk of being labeled an old fuddy-duddy, yes we can do these things remotely, but they're better done in person.

Work isn't just the work itself, it's the social and informal connections that make a team.  Recall a post from a few years back about how even something you might thing could be done remotely - coding video games - was way better done synchronously and in person.  "I can just as easily do my work from home" misses that much of work isn't the work itself, but the social context in which we connect and encourage and riff.

Church isn't just the sermon and the music, with all due respect to preachers and worship leaders across the land.  My very first blog post ever, some 17+ years ago, was about the powerful moment we had in church embracing and laying hands on a recently diagnosed HIV-positive congregant.  There's nothing like personal touch in a church community.  At my old church, there used to be a big Native American dude who would give the tighest and longest hugs, and man there were days that I was feeling so down and that hug was literally life-giving for me.  

School isn't just lectures and homeworks.  Learning is social, interactive, and iterative.  As my course at Penn has shifted from in-person to hybrid, I've had to learn how to make the most of each type of teaching platform, and to be sure the virtual format has many benefits.  But I'd much rather teach in person, and I think my students have learned a lot more when we are physically together.

I'll conclude with an area I know the least about, being a not very social person.  Restaurants, bars, and clubs are way more than just the food, drink, and music.  Atmosphere, chance encounters, and yes the human touch are not the side show at these places; they are the main attraction.  It's hugely important to be careful about these places now.  But one of the things most people are going to be eager to get back to once this is all over is hitting their favorite restaurant, bar, or club.  

We will certainly need to make some adjustments in our lives.  Some we will do but unwillingly.  Some we will be glad to do because they are better for us and better for everyone.  But much of what we're missing now, I'll be eager to get back to once we all can.