Lots of articles are covering how socially awkward we’ve gotten ever since a lot of us have started socially isolating. But I’ve noticed a second, stranger social phenomenon lately that nobody seems to be talking about.

The pandemic has led us to become more critical of how we interact with others.

I hear it all the time these days— folks tell me that they should have done or said things differently in even the most mundane social interactions. A lot of people are having more invasive thoughts, more frequently, regarding how they could have or should have behaved differently. And a lot of folks are making negative assumptions about how they’re perceived by others.

Why is this happening? And why is it happening now?

Here are some psychological phenomena that might help us understand what’s going on.

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