Social Distancing from East to West

The effect of cultural context on reactions to being quarantined

By Emma Smisek

The rapid progression of restrictions in response to COVID-19 has raised questions about the delicate balance between freedom and safety, and about how people react when one is sacrificed for the other. What makes a person value one over the other in times of emergency is partly related to cultural context—specifically, whether they operate under individualist or collectivist societal ideals.

Italy, for example, has struggled with one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks and went into a nationwide lockdown in early March, implementing strict limitations on personal freedoms like travel and social gatherings. These limitations began as recommendations, but citizens were ignoring them, maintaining an instinctive defiance that has been deeply ingrained in the nation’s history. It took a governmental decree to force restrictions on social interactions, but as patience was exhausted, the country experienced prison riots, lootings, and the rising influence of the Mafia.

In China and South Korea, on the other hand, the well-being of the nation is placed above the individual, especially in times of a global crisis. These two countries have also suffered some of the largest outbreaks, but commitment to taking collective action meant that no one needed to be forced to stay indoors and avoid large gatherings. Even wearing face masks—a long-held cultural norm in several East Asian countries—highlights a concern for the community over the individual. It is viewed as a demonstration of social responsibility. 

These striking contrasts reflect different social contracts. In East Asian countries like China and South Korea, compliance and trust in authorities is the norm. In Western countries like Italy and the US, however, we’re not used to this level of governmental control. In our individualist culture, distrust for authorities is more common, especially when those authorities seem to be growing too powerful.

While the “do it for the herd” mentality is held in high regard by many in the US, people can’t help but fixate on how the rules of social distancing affect them as individuals. For those who are not personally affected by the disease, it can be difficult to see the point in complying with social distancing. It can be difficult to accept being quarantined when we see no threat to ourselves, and in the absence of a perceived threat, focus shifts to providing for ourselves as individuals.

To provide for ourselves and our families, we are rewarded through work and going places and constant busy movement. Now there is a sense of stagnation. Western culture simply isn’t built for the collectivist mindset required for a nationwide lockdown to work. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be imposing any restrictions, but it does explain why modern democracies react in this way. In the US, as in other Western countries, we are accustomed to a way of life that grants us a great amount of freedom—a way of life that has been completely upturned.