Social Distancing in the Time of Social Media: A Series of Observations and Questions (which have probably changed a lot by the time you read this)

As the number of COVID-19 cases rapidly swept across the country, health authorities first recommended, and then mandated, that we maintain social distance in order to help tackle the pandemic. What “social distancing” means, in practice, has differed across the country, and shifted a number of times over just two weeks: here in Alberta, we were first told to maintain a one-metre distance from others, then two; to limit groups to under 100, then to under fifty, and finally to under fifteen. …