Covid-19 and Social Distancing: a sociological analysis of the Changing Dimensions of Society

Abstract

This paper articulates the issue of COVID-19 and its impacts on the existing social structures. A special attempt is made to elucidate the changing dimension of our society amidst COVID-19 and the nationwide lockdown in India.  The study tries to show how the fatalities of this disease have lead to a catastrophic situation in our everyday life. How the government’s decision to execute a nationwide lockdown paves the way for both positive and negative consequences, and how these consequences have a sustaining effect in the near future- these issues are examined and visualized through the application of sociological lenses. The larger vulnerabilities of the migrant workers and the urban youth, and their plight and apprehension amidst the lockdown are contextualized by applying the theory of Emile Durkheim. The changing  behavior of the netizens in social media platforms, deliberate attempts by the State to propagate the terms like “social distancing” rather than a more appropriate phrase“ physical distancing ” and it’s future consequences and impact upon potential human relationship(s) is also examined within the theoretical framework of Max Weber and Jurgen Habermas