B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Cannes Lions
  • WPP
  • State of Origin
  • NRL
  • Pinterest
  • B&T Women in Media
  • Thinkerbell
  • AFL
  • imaa
  • Anthony Albanese
  • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Meta
  • AI
  • Foxtel
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: Social Isolation: What It Means For The Herd
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Opinion > Social Isolation: What It Means For The Herd
Opinion

Social Isolation: What It Means For The Herd

Staff Writers
Published on: 16th April 2020 at 8:38 AM
Staff Writers
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE

In this guest post, Tribal Worldwide national head of strategy Caitlin Lloyd (pictured) offers her thoughts on social isolation and the impact it has had on wider social and cultural themes of belonging and herd mentality…

My childhood was spent sitting in the airing cupboard reading books. This was my favourite thing to do for two reasons. Firstly, the hot water tank was warm which was important growing up in England. Secondly, reading helped me practice my detective skills. I would search for clues to work out how the characters felt. There were the obvious signs in what they said and on top of the dialogue there were adverbs, so you knew how they said it. Sometimes you even got a direct line to characters’ thoughts via an inner monologue.

It’s not as easy to understand people in real life. As a strategist, I spend my days observing how people think and feel in an attempt to understand what they might do. Notoriously, this is bloody difficult, and some planners believe it’s a waste of time. Adam Ferrier argues in ‘Stop Listening to the Consumer’ that people don’t think about how they feel, they don’t say what they think, and they don’t do what they say.

This is fascinating when you consider our new normal. Lockdown means many of us are confined to our homes, reliant on phone calls to communicate with colleagues and video technology to gauge reactions from clients. Not unexpectedly, this is causing some issues. Professor Mehrabian was the first to identify that communication is 7% verbal and 93% non-verbal. When body language and tone of voice are hidden, meaning can quickly get lost.

Undeniably, this makes for some awkward interactions, but my interest goes beyond office politics and into the real world. Some of us, particularly those who live alone, are finding it increasingly difficult to read one another. You may have noticed a lack of eye contact on your morning walk or in the supermarket recently. This phenomenon was kicked off by our obsession with smartphones but has accelerated with social distancing.

As pack animals, we’re desperate to know we’re part of the herd. Emotional contagion, a fancy term for mind-reading, happens at a subconscious level. Mirror neurons fire and we naturally adopt the facial and vocal expressions of those around us. Our heart rate, skin temperature and brainwaves get in on the action too. This isn’t always a desirable effect because negative emotions are more infectious than positive ones, which is why a bad mood can sometimes spread quicker than the flu.

But avoiding people entirely isn’t realistic. As much as we try to keep to ourselves, many of us still live on top of our partners and children. And even when we escape from our prisons, I mean homes, we can’t avoid acknowledging our neighbours. So, at a time when the majority of us are feeling scared, tired and anxious, seeing other people displaying those same emotions reinforces the knowledge that there’s something to fear. Sadly, second-hand emotions are like second-hand smoke; they can be almost as dangerous as the real thing.

So far, so depressing, but there is a silver lining. Human beings are remarkably consistent. Attempts to predict future behaviour often fail because our needs haven’t changed much over time. Maslow’s hierarchy is as sturdy as ever. We will continue to seek food, shelter, love, freedom and belonging until the day we die. So, as marketers, we need to remember, lockdown will lift. We don’t know when, but we know that it must. And when that day comes, I predict we will seek one another out again, because that is how we like to live, among others.

 

 

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: Caitlin Lloyd, Tribal
Share
Staff Writers
By Staff Writers
Follow:
Staff Writers represent B&T's team of award-winning reporters. Here, you'll find articles crafted with industry experience spanning over 50 years. Our team of specialists brings together a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to delivering insightful, topical, and breaking news. With a deep understanding of advertising and media, our Staff Writers are dedicated to providing industry-leading analysis and reporting, both shaping the conversation and setting the benchmark for excellence.

Latest News

Telstra Launches One-Off Ad During State Of Origin Decider
11/07/2025
Clemenger BBDO Sydney office.
Agency Scorecard: Clemenger BBDO
11/07/2025
Matt Coote.
Matt Coote Takes New Senior Role At GumGum
11/07/2025
Spenser Skates.
Amplitude Acquires Kraftful To Embed AI-Native Voice Of Customer Capabilities
11/07/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?