While the first few months of 2020 presented their own unique challenges, March has been the most chaotic and stressful month of my life. I started the month with a moderate concussion, unable to read or go on any screens for over a week. I went back to campus for the final few school days before Spring break, with no idea that those would be my last for a while. COVID-19 has established a new reality worldwide. My situation is especially unique, as my mom is an Emergency Physician but also high risk for COVID-19 because she has severe asthma. My dad is an Orthopedic Surgeon and the Director of Innovation for Kaiser Permanente hospitals, meaning he is in charge of tele-health programs that allow patients to receive care remotely. They are on the front lines, which has added a whole new level of anxiety on top of the other unknowns that lie ahead.
This has greatly influenced the type of news I am consuming. I have been more meticulous about what articles I read on Google News in the morning than ever before, only clicking on articles from major news sources like Los Angeles Times, New York Times, or the Washington Post. This morning, an LA Times news alert popped up on my phone that stuck with me: Social distancing may have helped California slow the virus and avoid New York’s fate. While the headline is meant to reassure Californians like me, what struck me is what it implies about the peril New Yorkers are facing. In the age of COVID-19, even when an article attempts to look at the silver lining, it is at someone or something else’s expense. I tend to be the type of person to look at the glass half full, but this situation and the way articles are framing the news makes it very difficult.
This pandemic has infiltrated all sorts of media outlets, from traditional news sources all the way to TikTok. I have been spending a lot of time on social media as a way to stay in touch with my friends and family around the country, and what is most notable are the personal stories that are reposted and shared about people’s experiences with the virus. My coworker Jack and my sorority sister Heidi have already had the virus and they both shared their experience on social media in efforts to urge people to take the precautions seriously. I think using social media is an effective way of communicating the importance and urgency of social distancing and social isolation to my age group, who tends to think the virus won’t affect us. More and more people in our lives know are going to be impacted by this, and the best we can do is stay home and let the disease run its course.
Using the combination of my family’s proximity and understanding of the situation, major news sources that are reporting on the issue, and social media posts from family and friends who faced the virus head-on, I feel like I have a thorough look at some of the different angles of the pandemic. From now on, I want to begin to focus my news consumption on the stories that may be less accessible. For example, I have seen little coverage on how the homeless community is responding to the virus. As I already have an understanding of the stories that are easily accessible to me, it is time to start digging and learn about the stories that may be a bit more difficult to find.
Bon Dia Barcelona 