Author(s)

Meiyi Chen

Corresponding Author

Meiyi Chen

Abstract

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, previous literature has highlighted the lack of social networking opportunities due to the government's home quarantine measures. Based on this, social activity decreased, ultimately making us question whether this had an impact on proximity levels within friendships. This study surveyed 64 participants, asking how often and how close they were to their friends in 2020. The survey measured the distance and emotional connections between close friends, hypothesizing that proximity makes friends feel closer. Results showed that distance is an important factor affecting intimate relationships. The significance of this study is to provide people with information on how to better maintain good friendships and to test whether distance affects the connection between close relationships.

Keywords

COVID-19, platonic relationships, proximity