On 2025-07-18 16:49:24, Julien Plissonneau Duquène wrote: > Self-isolation is also proven to be harmful to the people that have to > endure it. There is a reason why solitary confinment is used as a > punishment in prisons, and considered by some to be a form of torture. > Concretely, in this DebConf, I can tell that some of the “covidés” have > shown some signs of psychological distress caused by these > circumstances, beyond what is caused by the disease itself.
You erroneously conflate solitary confinement with self-isolation in order to conclude that the effects are the same between then two. It turns out there are significant variables that are different: solitary confinement typically involves a less space than a typical car parking space. It involves having zero or no natural light, a concrete bed, limited ventilation, deliberately uncomfortable temperatures, and often harsh, mentally destabilizing conditions imposed by sadistic guards (eg. flashing lights, loud noises to keep you from sleeping). Self-isolation is voluntary (or at least not forcibly imposed in a cell), whereas solitary confinement is involuntary and imposed by prison authorities, you have no stimulus, you have no hope or clue when you will get out. Self-isolation usually happens in the comfort of your room, with a comfortable bed, entertainment, internet... you can even do video calls, or play games online with people. While both involve isolation, solitary confinement is far more extreme, restrictive, and psychologically harmful. COVID self-isolation is a health strategy — inconvenient and sometimes can be emotionally difficult, especially if it is over extended periods of time (which Debconf is not), but it's fundamentally different in terms of freedom, dignity, and support. So yeah, not the same. Sure some people during Covid, who were isolated for significant periods of time had mental health degradation, Debconf is not that significant of time, and not self-isolating increases the risk of every single other attendee having actual health degradation, from short-term COVID, to long-COVID and increased risks of heart disease and other well established effects from repeated infection. -- micah
