A word for our times: meatspace

Nerds, wordsmiths, lexophiles, lend me your ears.

In this time of the coronavirus, there is one incredibly useful word that has not been utilized to the extent that it should: meatspace.

It almost reads like a typo for someplace one would meet, and that’s actually not far off from its true meaning. Meatspace simply refers to the real, physical world. Put simply, it’s the opposite of cyberspace.

According to www.merriam-webster.com, the compound noun was first used in the early to mid-1990s. Cyberspace, by comparison, dates back to the early 1980s. Though Merriam-Webster acknowledges that use of the word meatspace has “grown increasingly common with each passing year,” it has not yet met the dictionary’s criteria for entry.

Perhaps the reason the word has remained less mainstream than its cyber counterpart is that the real physical world has always existed. Since the beginning of time, it’s been there, and there’s been little reason to introduce a term that refers to it specifically.

The advent of computers, however, necessitated a new term. Cyberspace was coined by science-fiction writer William Gibson in his 1982 short story “Burning Chrome.” It was popularized in his 1984 novel “Neuromancer.”

In a time when people are suddenly limited in their in-person, real-life interactions, it seems fitting to turn to a word that represents those moments.

It’s amazing the number of ways that people have adapted during stay-at-home orders, lockdowns and social distancing for the sake of slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

It turns out that, with the help of cyberspace, work and school can be done from home. Special occasions can be celebrated with digital well-wishes sent from both near and far. Story time can be shared in real-time video conferences. Friends can get together for happy hour and card games without being physically together thanks to tools like Zoom.

Such things speak to the adaptability, ingenuity and creativity of people facing new and unfamiliar limitations, but they inevitably fall just a bit short.

As things return to normal, folks will likely be rethinking some of the things they’ve taken for granted. Voices harmonizing in meatspace without any delay or distortion make for an extra special rendition of “Happy Birthday.” Phone calls and videos will simply never compare to a bear hug in meatspace.

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