Social Distancing Has Its Own Togetherness
As the coronavirus stops normal life, trapping more Americans in their homes, some have raised the specter of another health threat: loneliness. Before this crisis seized our anxieties, much discussion centered around the dangers of perceived social isolation and feeling cut off from others. A 2015 analysis by Brigham Young University found loneliness is a bigger cause of early death than obesity. And so we must ask: Is all this social distancing — staying away from other humans as a way to curb the virus’ spread — adding to loneliness? No, on the contrary. With everyone in ...