Rethinking Communication Space in the Era of COVID-19
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Date
2020
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Publisher
Benin Mediacom Journal, Department of Mass Communication, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria
Abstract
The outbreak of COVID-19 has altered the space people naturally maintain in the course of interpersonal, group, and public communication. The shift in paradigm is a conscious measure aimed at averting the exponential rate of infections and death that could be caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite existing literature on communication space, it is unlikely studies have been conducted to show the new dimension in communication space that emphasises on social distancing. This forms the basis for this conceptual study which rationale is to establish the extent to which the outbreak of Corona virus contributes in redefining how people use and organise space at this auspicious moment of the global pandemic that encourages social distancing across cultures. To achieve this, the study, which is anchored on communication accommodation theory, examines Edward T. Hall’s four phases that characterise communication space namely intimate distance, personal distance, social distance, and public distance. While the study acknowledges the fact that use and organisation of space across cultures is not homogenous, it concludes that the outbreak of Corona virus has redefined how even people within a cultural setting relate among themselves. The study recommends among other things the need for people to embrace social distancing and avoid public gatherings to reflect the exigency of the moment.
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Keywords
COVID-19, communication space, intimate distance, group distance, social distance, public distance