This Must Be the Place: Distraction, Connection, and “Space-Building” in the Time of Quarantine

Abstract

Philosopher Henri Lefebvre claimed that exultations such as “Change life! Change society!”—or, more appropriately, “Change your habits!”—mean nothing “without the production of an appropriate space” where these changes can occur. Adapting Lefebvre’s theories on the production of space to leisure, this paper celebrates how our participation in collectivistic online communities helps reconcile our need for distraction and connection during quarantine, aided by the practice of “space-building.” Through this process, leisure develops as both a visual and physical practice, the apathy (and boredom) resulting from inertia circumvented by space-building. By constructing relatable spaces that strive to mimic “real-world” locales, the dissonance created by the dialectical relationship between the objective truth (I’m stuck at home…) and our subjective projections is temporarily resolved.

Keywords:

• COVID-19;
• mass media and leisure < leisure
• life satisfaction < family/life cycle
• barriers < leisure
• community < other
• place identity < place

Club Quarantine, 9:13pm (Club Quarantine, 2020b).

Club Quarantine, 10:59pm (Club Quarantine, 2020b).

Two screenshots from Club Q’s 50th consecutive night, May 3rd, 2020. Participants imbibe, wear costumes, design sets, affix digital backgrounds, and party, all while connecting with likeminded clubgoers.

(Including me! Top row, second from left. I even changed ‘locales’ halfway through.)