The article by Artemy Magun, a professor of the Democratic Theory at the European University, published in The Philosophical Salon discusses the crisis of social distance using the examples of the coronavirus pandemic and the events initiated by the #metoo flashmob. Social distancing is now considered the new normal, but one no longer understands what distance to hold and what distance actually means in a society. Its psychological outcome is a hysterical or/and an obsessive disposition.
“The interface gives us a much more personalized and zoomed-in images of others than most interpersonal communication ever would. We visually penetrate the intimate spaces of our colleagues, and, against their background, full-screen, they appear as significant, imposing figures in the spirit that preceded mass society. What is this zooming—a distancing or, on the contrary, a close-up?” — Artemy Magun wrote in the article.