Yesterday, I was in the position for the first time in over two months to need to meet an acquaintance to borrow a necessary item. As a person who has generally been socially awkward my whole life, this was one of the rare times that I felt that awkwardness deeply on both sides. Both of us were extremely cautious in taking steps toward each other. One and sometimes both of us would take a step back, because we had no certainty of the exact distance between us.
I was wearing a mask, which led to further distancing, and at the same time, I felt closer to her than I ever had. It lead me to realize how much context is built into social interaction. And when both people have uncertainty about the context, it is a shared awkwardness. When only one person lacks certainty about context, well, then it is only awkward for them.
The context to which I refer are the unspoken social norms and etiquette. What I have struggled to grasp, simply by virtue of my way of perceiving the world, is now what the majority of people are experiencing.
I’m curious what will happen to our relationships as each of us wrestles in our own unique way to re-envision these important ties.
