Opinion | What’s in a Name? ‘Social Distancing’ vs ‘Physical Spacing’

While the emphasis remains on COVID-19 vaccines, public health officials have recently shifted some of their attention to holiday guidelines for social gathering. This is at least in part dictated by the confusion surrounding “social distancing.”

Ahead of this holiday season, public health officials should reconsider use of this term and adopt more appropriate — and less objectionable — semantics.

The principle of “social distancing” is credited to have saved many people during the pandemic of 1918, which claimed an estimated 50 million lives worldwide. Since then it has become one of the major non-pharmaceutical tools used to contain the spread of contagions. And a close look at human history shows that another pandemic is almost certainly inevitable. Unless we learn from the successes and mistakes in how we have handled COVID-19, future pandemics may be more destructive, devastating, and deadly.

The idea of social distancing has had a strong impact on society’s response to COVID-19, as our experts began widespread use of the term throughout the country in March 2020. However, public health officials sometimes pay little attention to semantics and overlook the significance of certain words and phrases used to promote strategies, recommendations, counseling, and mandates.

In Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Juliet laments “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But names do, in fact, matter.

At this point in the coronavirus pandemic, I believe that the term “physical spacing” is a more accurate description of the message we are trying to convey and would be more acceptable than “social distancing.” Social interaction is an essential part of our humanity and survival. Aristotle said, “Man is by nature a social animal.” While some level of “social distancing” may have been appropriate early on in the pandemic, now, with widespread access to vaccines and masks, it may be time to put that term to rest, especially for those who are fully vaccinated.

The use of inaccurate or confusing names can stir up emotions that distort the true message. Social distancing can have a negative connotation such as being aloof, reclusive, and unsociable. The brain perceives isolation as a threat and activates the release of fight or flight hormones. Consequences include anxiety, aggression, depression, substance use disorder, and poor academic and work performance. During a pandemic, people need emotional support, compassion, someone to listen to them, and a low stress environment. We are each other’s keepers! Nonphysical social interaction should be encouraged, and it can take various forms, including electronic media, audio, and video strategies. And with hundreds of millions of Americans fully vaccinated, many can gather with low risk of COVID-19 infection. The only “distancing” that may be helpful is physical.

The World Health Organization (WHO) supports using the term “physical distancing” instead of “social distancing.” Johns Hopkins University notes, “As communities reopen and people are more often in public, the term ‘physical distancing‘ (instead of social distancing) is being used to reinforce the need to stay at least 6 feet from others, as well as wearing face masks.”

Even CDC’s updated holiday guidance does not mention “social distancing,” and other guidance from the agency emphasizes putting 6 feet of space between yourself and people who don’t live in your household. While transmission of COVID-19 can occur beyond 6 feet through aerosols, the important message is all about maintaining physical space to reduce risk.

It is my opinion that spacing is more psychologically acceptable than distancing. Most societies recognize that people require some space. It is viewed with understanding and even compassion.

Much misinformation and dangerous disinformation is circulating about the coronavirus. The term “physical spacing” may be the sweet smell of fresh air to allay the fears of some people who view medical advice with suspicion, especially when they see it as encroaching on their natural instincts.

Joe Ordia, MD, is board certified in neurological surgery.