Lockdown 2.0 has been a very different experience from lockdown 1.0, and friendships have fallen by the wayside for many Melburnians.

University of Melbourne’s Centre for Positive Psychology, Associate Professor Peggy Kern, said lockdown 2.0 has been marked by fatigue, and many simply haven’t had the energy to maintain their friendships.

“The second lockdown is much more of just getting by and not giving that effort of having to keep in touch with everyone,” she told Russel and Kate.

“People have a lot of zoom fatigue … so we are seeing a lot more people that have just been isolating themselves, not having the energy to reach out to others or be supporting others.”

Professor Kern said those feeling guilty about losing touch with their friends shouldn’t stress.

“We have this desire for friendship and relationships and at the same time not actually having the energy for it, and then we feel guilty,” she said.

“Relationships really are critical and yet people have been exhausted … or we’ve lost some of those social skills.”

Some relationships may not recover from the distance of lockdown 2.0, but Professor Kern says that’s normal and shouldn’t be cause for concern.

“Some friendships will go away … some will continue on and perhaps be even stronger,” she said.

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