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Has the pandemic made us more aggressive?

Comedians, public workers, and university tutors have been reporting more aggressive and socially stunted behaviours since we returned to β€˜normal’ life. Has the pandemic dented our ability to communicate effectively and appropriately?

It seems some of us may have forgotten how to behave in public after multiple years of lockdowns and social restrictions.

Comedian Nish Kumar has openly described his experiences with hecklers and social misconduct during his recent shows – all of which have taken place post lockdowns. He says poor behaviour has become more common, and he’s not alone in this observation.

Dani Johns, a fellow comic, has written an article for the Guardian in agreement. She writes that β€˜poor audience etiquette’ is now β€˜demonstrably worse now than before the pandemic’.

So, what’s going on?

The cause of this shift is up for debate, and nobody has the exact answer. Some theorise that it’s the result of a breakdown in boundaries between work, home, leisure, and productivity since everyone became obligated to live exclusively inside their homes.

For children – especially those under the age of ten – the extended periods of isolation may have affected empathy with others. It could also have caused a shift in learned behaviours and basic understanding of interactions with others in public settings.


What did the comedian Nish Kumar say?

According to a piece by the Guardian, and via Nish Kumar’s Instagram, the comedian has faced several disorderly, racially-charged incidents while performing his stand up shows post-pandemic.

At one of his performances in Shrewsbury, Kumar asked a disruptive audience member to leave, who apparently said he’d misidentified the comedian as fellow act Romesh on his way out. Kumar rightfully responded saying that his comments were racist.

The next night in Cheltenham, a woman also mentioned Romesh after Kumar explained the situation on Instagram. Kumar called this audience member out, who then said, β€˜stop being so sensitive’. She doubled down and later sent a complaint to Kumar’s agent.

This behaviour shows a lack of respect for the performer, the show, and the venue. Kumar said other comics have β€˜sensed that something doesn’t quite feel right’ with audience behaviours – and it’s a sentiment that’s shared across multiple industries.


Where else is this also being reported?

Interestingly, Reddit users have been commenting on the apparent worse behaviour of students and customers within their professions. This thread in particular provides some interesting insights from normal members of the public.

User Mont-ka commented that β€˜not exactly the same thing but we have noticed (anecdotally) that our students are less socially able in the current cohort compared to previously’. They added that there was β€˜lots more social anxiety and inappropriate classroom behaviours’.

Another, arcangeline, said they worked β€˜in the theatre and had never seen so much bad behaviour’. They also mentioned that β€˜ushers broke up at least one drunken punch up mid show a week’. β€˜Things that used to be once in a blue moon events are getting to be regular occurrences.’

Dani Johns also notes other live acts dealing with uncharacteristically rowdy behaviour. Musician Sophie Ellis-Bextor had to ask a noisy audience to be quiet and a tweet from Beverley Knight expressed frustration at an uncooperative crowd.


Why has the pandemic caused this shift in behaviour and will it improve?

As stated, research into such a new phenomena is limited, at least for now. We don’t know what the long-term implications could be for young people who have missed normal social interaction during key development stages.

We are certain that people who have smaller, less complicated social networks usually have a smaller amygdala, which is the brain’s emotion-processing centre. Extended periods of loneliness can also impact hormone levels associating with stress and bonding.

Memory and vocal recall can be affected by lengthy isolation times, too. More of us than ever have reported stressing over social interaction and we’re finding making connections tougher in general.

All of these changes to our chemical balances won’t simply disappear overnight. Not to excuse or justify any aggressive or disruptive behaviour, but it will take time for many of us to relearn how to behave with others. It’s not everyone, of course, but it could go some way to explain the increased cases of disorderly conduct.

Ultimately, we’ll have to wait to fully understand the implications of the pandemic. All this is assuming we don’t end up in lockdowns in the coming years, too. Best keep our fingers crossed, right?

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