'This Period of Isolation is Going to Make People Take Notice of Their Freedoms' - Pundit

Tauel Harper, lecturer of Media and Communication at the University of Australia, shares his views on the importance of communication in this uncertain time and the ways in which technology has changed the rules of social distancing.

Sputnik: How is social distancing different in the modern era, compared to social distancing in the past?

Tauel Harper: In terms of social distancing these days, obviously we have everything in our fingertips, we've actually developed ourselves into a very isolated kind of society quite organically. We have social media, of all stripes and all persuasions to keep in touch. We've got email, which is like the mail service on steroids. So it's very easy actually to transmit information these days, compared to in the past. 

Sputnik: that covers the modern day, but even 10 years ago, how drastically different would social distancing been compared to today? 

Tauel Harper: 10 years ago Facebook was definitely a huge thing. Instagram really didn't exist. When you think about how far Skype has come along, apps like zoom. Certainly not ever everybody understands videoconferencing. But by and large, it's something that most people have had some engagement with, even if it's just talking to their grandkids or maybe doing online learning or something along those lines, most people understand that these tools are available now. So it's a whole world of opportunity.

Sputnik: Despite the advances in technology, a lot of people will continue to have issues with social distancing. What advice could you share to them?What are the best ways to get involved with social socialising in this time? 

Tauel Harper: It's a real mental challenge to undertake physical isolation and there's a huge part of us as human beings that really enjoys showing ourselves off in front of other people. And I literally mean showing, not just sending information about how you're doing in an email or in a letter that can be really rewarding for people who are very articulate. But by and large, most of us get our sense self by appearing in front of other people. So it's really important to persevere as much as you can to actually go through the process of staying in touch with people.

It doesn't have to be on video conferencing but that's a really easy way of doing it. If you're on social media, anything, just make sure that you maintain those connections, because it is actually a really important part of people's self-validation to have that kind of relationship with other people. So yes, just be very careful to make sure you make the effort to keep in touch with others at this point. 

Sputnik: Do you think post isolation, people will have maybe more appreciation for their friends and the opportunities they have to socialise after a period of restriction? 

Tauel Harper: I think after this period of isolation, I think we'll have a whole new range of appreciation not just for our friends, but the ability to go out and do exactly what we want whenever we want. Also appreciate our teachers, I can tell you off the homeschooling of my kids today, a lot more than we did in the past. 

I think this period of isolation is really going to make people kind of sit up and take notice. Yeah, I'm sure there will be a couple of weeks where the opportunity to just go out for a coffee or catch up at a pub with friends and family will seem like it's golden, like heaven.