In a society that has turned from collectivism to individualism, privacy and personal freedom play an important role in people’s comfort. Those concepts suggest a possibility to do what one pleases without violating the rights of the rest (Gammon, 2012). Considering that, I agree with Yue Chen’s statement that pandemic-related restrictions may make people feel deprived of personal freedom as they cannot do what they wish, for example, walk in groups or hold parties.
On the contrary, I do not share my classmate’s view on the way the idea of individuality may be considered unsociable and dangerously selfish. As I see the meaning of this assumption, a person who continues socializing offline notwithstanding the limitations is fatally selfish. The reason is obvious: gatherings facilitate contagion, and organizing them just for fun means putting a number of people at risk for the sake of somebody’s enjoyment.
Physical contact is not compulsory for keeping a good relationship as long as there are messengers, phone calls, and video chats. To show my family and friends how important they are to me, I try contacting them more often in the way they prefer. In particular, I call my mom, who is not fond of texting, but text my friend, who is often too busy to speak in real time. Actually, I would not say something has changed dramatically about my communication. I have friends in other cities I hardly saw more frequently before the pandemic, and I have elderly relatives not able to text properly. I still miss my close family and our dinners where everyone used to share their routines, but the well-being of my dearest is what I value more than my sentiments.
Reference
Gammon, K. (2012). What is freedom? Live Science. Web.