Dorm Life in the Age of COVID-19

When I envisioned my college experience, beginning it in the midst of a pandemic was definitely not what I anticipated. Thanks to COVID-19, quite a bit has changed here at Tufts, an example being the amount of time spent in residence halls. I am almost certain that students are spending significantly more time in the residence halls than they would in a normal year.

This definitely holds true for my hall mates and me. Because we are forced to spend so much time together during this unprecedented semester, I would argue that COVID-19 brought us closer together. Well, more like social psychology can help to explain why I feel so close to these people.

I think it is fair to assume that my hall mates and I have experienced the propinquity and mere exposure effects firsthand. The propinquity effect tells us that we are more likely to have relationships with people that live in our proximity. In fact, when I think about my group of closest friends, the majority of them live in my residence hall. The mere exposure effect, on the other hand, holds that we are likely to have relationships and be attracted to people with whom we have more contact; this is easily achieved in a residence hall as well.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking about what my experience would have been like without COVID-19. I wonder if I would’ve gotten as close to these wonderful people had it not been for the present situation. This goes to show how powerful the situation can be and just how much it impacts our thoughts, behaviors, and actions.