  In the covariant averaging scheme of macroscopic gravity, the process of
averaging breaks the metricity of geometry. We reinterpret the back-reaction
within macroscopic gravity in terms of the non-metricity of averaged geometry.
This interpretation extends the effect of back-reaction beyond mere dynamics to
kinematics of geodesic bundles. With a 1+3 decomposition of the spacetime, we
analyse how geometric flows are modified by deriving the Raychaudhuri and Sachs
equations. We also present the modified forms of Gauss and Codazzi equations.
Finally, we derive an expression for the angular diameter distance in Friedmann
Lema\^itre Robertson Walker universe and show that non-metricity modifies it
only through the Hubble parameter. Thus, we caution against overestimating the
influence of back-reaction on the distances.
