Hyperreality and Social Distortion amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

In the increasingly digitised 21st century characterised by continuous finger tapping, ‘likes’ and ‘shares’, media plays an integral role in shaping our understanding and misunderstanding of social reality. While becoming increasingly tangled in this metaphorical online world offering the promise of increased connectivity, our sense of ‘reality’ has been greatly distorted. Truth has become indistinguishable from counterfeit simulation and the cyberspace strives to become more real than the real world itself. This has only been furthered by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, promoting a greater sense of dependence on the virtual sphere necessitated by social distancing. Having eroded our sense of collectivisation and accessibility to in-person relationships, it has caused people to survive in an atmosphere of social uncertainty. Consequently, this article attempts to bring to the foreground the social distortion that has been engendered by the pandemic, fragmenting the public body into isolated pockets interconnected only through technological simulations of reality.