Pandemic perspectives: How students navigate social relationships

Abstract

The development of social bonds helps to keep the social fabric of society intact. However, The Covid-19 outbreak has caused mayhem on social relationships and has changed the manner individuals interact with one another. Face-to-face communications were typically limited to primary members amid the apex of Covid-19 restrictions because some 'weak' ties were lost, and connections grew more confined to those closest. The case study approach was used in this qualitative work to understand students' perceptions of many facets of social relationships (family, relatives, teachers, classmates, coworkers, friends, and strangers) and how the Covid-19 Pandemic affects their interpersonal relationships. Six Post graduate students at Kashmir University participated in the study and were purposively selected and interviewed. The data for this study was collected by semi-structured interviews. The face-to-face interview with PG students at Kashmir University lasted up for forty-five minutes per student focused on the individuals’ stories and interpretations of their viewpoints about social relationships and experience of change in social relationships brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak. The results of this research lead to the conclusion that the existence of social ties has a great beneficial influence on psychological and physiological health, adding to an individual's overall well-being, but the lack of social relationships increases the likelihood of psychological discomfort. Social relationships provide freedom of self-disclosure to expose one's personal difficulties and feelings. The loss of in-person interactions as a result of the Covid 19 outbreak, as well as the total shift to virtual connections, had been a major difficulty. Increased virtual relations has created societal chaos and diminished value system. A significant drift in norms of interaction has been found.