Has Lockdown Negatively Impacted our Social Skills?

This was a question I asked myself within a month of moving to Melbourne in January 2021. I mulled over the possibility and verbalised my concerns to my husband throughout the subsequent months, gathering anecdotal evidence all the while. While enduring Victoria Lockdown 6.0, I decided it best to do some research around my theory: has the lockdown negatively impacted our social skills? Anecdotal evidence suggests yes, so what do experts think? And if I’m correct, can the damage be reversed and how long will it take?

For clarity, my research will be based on individuals between the ages of 20 and 40. Reason being, this is the age group I personally belong to, and the average age of my circles here in Melbourne. I also theorise that this age group has regressed the most in the area of verbal communication, with the exception, perhaps, of children.
My research may mention the likes of mysophobia (fear of dirt or contamination) as a contributing factor to conversational ineptitude, but will not be focused on specifically.
The physical aspects of awkwardness might be mentioned where pertinent, but will also not be covered thoroughly.

Anecdotal Evidence

Personally, I’ve found myself fumbling for words (worse than usual) as early as April 2020. However, New Zealand’s short and strict lockdown meant that any communication regression that may have occurred as a result of isolation, didn’t seem to last long, at least in my circles. And for that, I’m grateful.

As of writing, Victoria has gone through a total of six lockdowns, several of them lasting over a month. There’s no doubt these lockdowns have affected Victorians possibly more than they themselves even realise. And that’s a concerning thought.

The severity of social awkwardness I have witnessed and even inadvertently created range from simply forgetting to look people in the eye, to full-blown miscommunications that leave both parties confused and frustrated. Often times, I’ve come away from conversations feeling lonely, which is the exact opposite of what one should feel after successful socialisation.

A comedic example of the hair-tearing miscommunication I’ve come across lately can be understood just by watching this piece of dialogue from one of my favourite shows, LetterKenny (0:57 - 2:03).

Between lockdowns, I’m frustrated to find my, and everyone else’s, social skills have taken such a drastic hit. I’ve noticed we’re less sure how to participate in group conversations, our capacity for empathy has plummeted, and we’re even forgetting how to answer simple polite questions such as “how was your day?”.

Without realising it, there were some months my husband and I resorted to nothing short of grunting at each other for most parts of the day, and unwitty quips and sarcasm when we have the occasional burst of energy. Neither of these things come close to what you’d call communication.

So...

Welcome to an ?-part series of posts about social skills in a post-lockdown world.
This was a bit of an introduction and effort to highlight that there might be social difficulties for us coming out of lockdown.
Part 2 will cover exactly why I decided to write about this topic.