Proxemics, Pre- and Post-Covid

Proxemics, Pre- and Post-Covid

    Proxemics. To start off, What is it? Well, proxemics is the use of personal space and conversational distance with others. This has had a drastic change since COVID-19 happened all throughout the world. Now, there are times all throughout your day when someone is in all of your zones. Does this feel comfortable? Maybe not. But they might not care. 

(Quora 2023)

    As seen in the image above, there are six levels of interaction. All of these have different meanings and even comfort levels. 

Intimate- 18 inches apart 

Personal- 4 Feet

Social- 10 feet

Public/ Anonymous - 10+ feet

    Now, think about a time when someone was just too close to you. Was it a teacher? Maybe a boss? They were likely in your intimate space. This is not normal for someone like that to be that close to you. Whereas, if it was your significant other, it would be more acceptable. 

My boyfriend and I in each other's intimate space (Personal Photo)

    Like I said before, this is okay for him and me to be that close. We were getting our photos taken. This does not mean it is always okay for him to be this close to me. What if we were at a funeral. I wouldn't want him that close to me. Or maybe just in some public areas. Just because he is my boyfriend, does not mean he does not cross the line on my proxemics. 

COIVD-19

    When COVID-19 started everyone was freaked out. No one really knew how it spread and or how to even stop the spread. We wore masks and followed this new rule called social distancing. Now, this was a HUGE change in our culture. People would stand within inches of each other in lines. In the grocery store, bathrooms, cue lines, and more. Well, now we had to stand within 6 feet or more from other people. This was hard for some people. Standing on the dot that the store put out for you. It drove people mad. The people who followed this rule felt like they were creeping up on them if they weren't 6 feet apart. Were they actually that close? Maybe not. But our new normal was 6 feet and 6 feet only so it felt like they were intruding on their intimate space. 

After

    Nowadays, people are starting to get closer. I can personally feel this when I am in checkout lines. Just recently, I was at TJ Maxx and someone was getting really close to me. I truly felt a little uncomfortable. I was trying to scoot up and keep my mouth shut. It felt like they wanted to have a personal conversation face-to-face with me. I realized that they were in my intimate space. This hasn't happened in quite a while for me in public. Some people's brains are still telling them 6 feet while others aren't. This can really mess with people and how comfortable they can feel. I think after the pandemic proxemics have changed a lot. I think that the amount of space has changed. I think before people were a lot closer than they realized. But when something calls you out, you can realize just how close you were standing. 

Image to show how much space was acceptable when COVID-19 happened. 

(Drawn by Charleigh Long)

Citations

Provasi, E. (2012, April 2). Personal Space. Cultural Connections. https://lizprovasi.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/personal-space/#:~:text=Americans%20consider%20intimate%20as%20standing

Mehta, V. (2020). The new proxemics: COVID-19, social distancing, and sociable space. Journal of Urban Design, 25(6), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2020.1785283

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