Since the beginning of this pandemic, social media has been insisting on social distancing. Using this term in this way is not correct because social and physical distance are not synonymous.
Why this is important? Because terms (words) that we use are in correlation with the way we think and the way we experience world around us (our schemes in conscious and unconscious level). Using right words for tagging something is part of the solution (“if you want to solve the problem, name things as what they really are”).
What is social distance? Simply put, social distance denotes the closeness between two people. It encompasses the cognitive, emotional and physical components.
Because telling people that they should make social distance, one is actually telling them they should be less close to others as whole persons not just physically, which should be the point.
When we say that a person has a great social distance to another person, it means that he or she is very little or not close at all. This closeness applies to both the physical and psychological (cognitive, emotional) aspects. Physical distance is usually part of social distance, but physical distance is not necessarily a consequence of social distance.
For example, if we can choose, the people we want to be close to, they are both psychologically and physically in our field, we feel comfortable / pleasant with them, we don't mind the physical closeness and contact. In this case we can say that the social distance is small.
However, there are situations in which the physical and psychological components are separated. For example, when we are forced to physically share space and activities (say in a business environment) with people we do not want to be close to. In this case, there is a psychological distance without a physical one.
Physical distance does not automatically mean social distance because for various reasons it happens that for some time we are physically away from someone and still feel close to him. In this case, there is a physical distance without psychological.
So, in "normal" circumstances, when it depends on us to be close to a certain person, physical and psychological distance are consistent and then we can talk about a great or small social distance. In the changed circumstances, it is better to look at individual aspects than to speak of social distance as a comprehensive concept.
In the situation we are in, physical distance is what is recommended.
Because a human being is a social being, contacts and closeness with others are very important in everyday life.
In crisis situations, communication and closeness are especially important because they can help us more easily withstand the crisis and overcome the consequences after the crisis is over.
So,stay close and keep the distance ;)