We are in the midst of a crisis, and no one knows when, or above all how, we will come out of it. It is hard to imagine that there will be one precise day marking a before and an after. Companies will close, people will not get their jobs back, those who have learned to work remotely will no longer see their profession in the same way, and the children who have learned to collaborate with their brothers and sisters or friends from a distance, and to work independently, will no longer see education in the same way.
Today, many of us have decided to tighten our bonds with those close to us. WhatsApp groups dedicated to families have mushroomed, and those who want to get involved at various levels offer or join the initiatives of their friends or colleagues. But in general, we are suffering more than ever from the famous “familiarity bias” described by Martin Hoffman, which draws us towards those who seem to share our concerns, our way of life, or a situation similar to ours. We keep in touch with our loved ones through text messages and dedicated networks, and that is already very absorbing. But few people try to use this opportunity to build a bond with those who are different from them. We are thus threatened more than ever with entering a kind of digital communitarianism. That is why it is very important for each of us to try to broaden our horizons beyond our traditional community of belonging.
Finally, after lockdown, our relationship with the world will inevitably be different. And it is up to us, starting today, to make sure it continues to reflect the values we hold dear. Writing, drawing, speaking, photographing… all of this is available to us to bear witness, but also to begin imagining the world after.
A website, which is part of our federation “Petits Laboratoires d’Empathie” (PLEM), collects these testimonies and projects: memoiresdescatastrophes.org
Another invites you to tell a memory, based on what you see from your window: here.
Right here, members of our association offer a few testimonies about their lives and their difficulties, which show the extraordinary differences between our situations and the ways of dealing with them…
ST
Serge Tisseron is a psychiatrist, doctor of psychology qualified to supervise research, member of the Academy of Technologies, and associate researcher at the University of Paris (CRPMS).
