> We need to start building social distancing into our culture the same way we built protection for sex into our culture.
While I agree with the general gist of your comment, I should emphasize that what we need is physical-distancing, not social. Humans are social beings at core, and depriving them of social interactions is as deadly as the virus itself. What we should be practicing more than ever before is washing our hands, minding our coughs, and in general, being responsible to the society. The individualistic lifestyle - which is pretty much dominant in the West - shouldn't stop us from caring about our community as a whole and our duties towards other people. Technology can only help us get so far; the rest depends on how much we - as responsible social beings - take care of ourselves and each other.
Good distinction. We should be focusing more on hygiene while finding ways to connect remotely with the people who are important to us.
Good stop-gap, but not remotely viable long-term. Humans aren't made for isolation, even if video calls help take the edge off soon. FaceTime and Zoom have a significant cognitive load, too. As long as we're talking about how society should adapt to this sort of risk, we can't just go to living in individual hermetic pods with internet connections. The mental health cost will be monstrous.
Why the cogntive load would be lesser in a face to face conversation than digital assuming the internet connectivity is good ?
- Henry David Thoreau