Why is social distancing difficult for people to adhere to?
Answers
Answer:
We don't learn how to discern social distance from personal distance until we age and our culture overtakes our natural tendency. Anyone with kids has observed that kids could care less about personal space. They touch everyone and love hugs and wrestling and cuddling.
When we participate in social distancing, our children don't yet understand the boundaries and they can't be expected to enforce them.
About the time we go through puberty, we start to recognize the cultural expectations about distances between people and we pick up on the difference between social space and personal space.
In our house, we are giving lots of hugs and staying in close personal distance to one another. But outside of it, we are not. And that requires some supervision on our part. That means that even though my backyard might be the typical neighborhood hangout for all the kids (which we love!), it can't be for now. Hopefully, by the summer, it will be again. Send the neighborhood kids home to their houses. Go on walks. Wave to the neighbors. Have virtual playdates. Take bike rides. But maintain social distance from our friends. Social distancing practices require that our children engage in it with us. And even though it feels unfriendly, social distancing might be the friendliest thing we can do.