Social control and Covid-19 – formal and informal mechanisms of control.
Social control refers to ways in which a society tries to prevent and sanction behavior that violates previous social norms set in place. Social norms function to provide order and predictability within a society and when they are not followed to acknowledged they will then experience repercussions and disapproval feeling as though they may be an outcast to the group. With covid, we were able to see a lot of social control within different societies in order to keep society functioning and allow some sort so expectations to be set in place.
During covid, many of our social norms were taken away from us do to different means of social control throughout a multitude of aspects within each of our lives. Social norms such as shaking hands or hugging when meeting people, visiting family for special occasions, sharing drinks/foods with people close to you, sneezing into your elbow, going to the doctors when you feel sick, acting appropriate during class time (raising your hand to speak, attire, asking to use the bathroom), and simple tasks such as following a schedule and routine in your everyday lives. These are social norms we followed prior to covid and once this pandemic hit these social norms were forced to change and be brushed under the rug along with social control and the different variables that tied along with it. With this pandemic we no longer shook hands or hugged when meeting someone and there was this awkward pause and stare after introducing one another to each other. There was a point of confusion during this time as we no longer have this social control to give us guidelines on what to do and how to appropriately act in certain situations. In addition to this, there was a barrier placed between friends and family as we needed to socially distance ourselves to keep the spread of the virus as contained as possible. It was no longer acceptable to visit loved ones during special occasions or if they were ill in a hospital setting.
On the other hand of things, we had very strict social control set in place the moment this pandemic began to take over. Although it felt very different to have a verity of social norms ‘taken away’ from us, it was severely difficult to adapt to the multitude of social controls set in place once covid 19 began to affect everyone. Social control is set in place in order to have a focus behavior that can positively benefit the community as a whole. Factors such as the mask mandate, six feet social distancing, telehealth appointments, covid tests for travel, maximum capacity in stores, gyms and non-essential businesses shutting down and even travel bands set in place are all examples of social control. They all have the purpose to control the spread of the virus while also allowing a functionable society. Although this caused many uproars within different businesses, families etc. it allowed for control where it was crucial and at the times they were most needed.
