For almost two years, we have been living in our “bubble”. We go out less, we hang out with a few friends, some hardly see their colleagues anymore, or only through a screen. The fact of not (or less) meeting people who are different from us, of no longer starting debates at the coffee machine and of no longer confronting one’s ideas has consequences on our open-mindedness.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
“Studies show that when we are in contact with people who come from different social groups, ages, cultures and religions, we have more tolerance, less prejudice, but also more flexible thinking, more creativity and a greater openness to new experiences,” explains Marina Doucerain, associate professor of social psychology at UQAM.
Our ability to consider different viewpoints is challenged right now.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Marina Doucerain, professor of social psychology at UQAM
We are currently experiencing an impoverishment in the diversity of social ties, and this homogenization has effects on us, we think that our way of doing things is THE right one, we lose the perspective of understanding the other, because we no longer have contact varied, fewer exchanges and interactions.
Marina Doucerain, professor of social psychology at UQAM
Atrophied muscles
According to the DD Christine Grou, psychologist and president of the Order of Psychologists of Quebec, we are all living with great pandemic fatigue and we have become less tolerant. “We have adapted to major life changes and restrictions. So we have a first variable which is great mental fatigue. The second factor is that people have reduced their social contacts to the essentials. They hang out with a few relatives who make them feel good, relationships without conflicts, it’s a way of protecting themselves,” she says.
Results ? Because we are tired, less patient, less tolerant and more emotional, a form of laziness sets in. “Social relations that require more energy, we will avoid them. We tend to find refuge with friends who look like us, ”says the DD Christine Grou. “Even in a virtual way, there are subjects that we do not address because the energy is not there,” she adds.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The DD Christine Grou, psychologist and president of the Order of Psychologists of Quebec
And during this time, a bit like when we stop practicing a sport, our muscles atrophy. “Having a great diversity in our network of friends is linked to cognitive enrichment. Better cognitive reserve is associated with slowing down dementia, and in particular Alzheimer’s. The fact that a brain is stimulated, that it has to adapt and come into contact with new people from various backgrounds, is an added value that we are losing,” explains Marina Doucerain.
French journalist Didier Pourquery, author of Let’s save the debate: let’s dare the nuance, quotes the philosopher Montaigne in an interview to emphasize the importance of being confronted with different ideas. “Montaigne said he liked to converse with people who didn’t think like him, because that’s how he learned,” he said. In his essay on the art of conferring, which dates from the sixteenthand century, it is a question of learning things thanks to the different points of view that we have in front of us, there is a kind of pedagogy of exchange, provided we listen to the other, of course. It’s profound, because Montaigne is inspired by Greek humanism, a wisdom that comes from afar and that still resonates today. »
Tired mental flexibility
According to Professor Marina Doucerain, there are two types of ties among the people we socialize with, strong ties and weak ties, which provide us with different forms of social capital. “Weak ties are important because they give access to new ideas, different resources and opportunities that we don’t have in our strong ties. When we only hang out with our parents, our sister, our brother, at some point, things go around in circles, there are no new things. While a weak link, which is a friend of a friend, a friend of our neighbour, will give us new horizons, but also perhaps an idea for a new job, a new babysitter, opportunities. Right now, we are losing that social capital. »
All the experts interviewed believe that our mental flexibility is tired in these times of a pandemic.
Mental flexibility is what allows us to adapt, to live well together, with differences, and to tolerate uncertainty.
The DD Christine Grou, psychologist and president of the Order of Psychologists of Quebec
She admits that the opportunities to meet people are rarer, but if we never confront our ideas, we end up in echo chambers. Where the thought becomes impoverished, and this is not desirable. “We have less stimulation, less activity, and that causes deconditioning. Moreover, some find it difficult to resume after…”, underlines the psychologist.
For Marina Doucerain, we have to get back to it! “We adopted this bubble mentality, even with the reduction of measures. Our first instinct is not to meet people who are less familiar to us. We stay with our loved ones, and we hang out with friends we trust. But you have to open up, you really have to get back to it, ”she says.