Things right now are, well, not normal. We’re in the midst of the first pandemic since the H1N1 Pandemic of 2009—and the first pandemic of the Social Media Era. (Facebook launched in 2004 and Twitter in 2006.) While social media has been valuable for getting important information about COVID-19 to the public, it has also amplified the speed at which misinformation and speculation spread in ways unimaginable even in 2009. As a result, people are afraid—afraid of getting sick, afraid of dying, afraid of losing friends and loved ones, afraid of losing their homes as livelihoods, and afraid of losing their way of life.
Although the feeling of fear is universal, the way people cope with fear is not. Some people lash out, others withdraw. Some seek out new ways to deal with a new reality (Virtual church services, anyone?) while others turn to familiarities from the past to help them navigate unfamiliar ground. Still others combine the old comforts with new methods. For example, the age-old practice of reading aloud was paired with the new technology of live-streaming audio and video to recreate the childhood joy of being read to. Probably the most viral (no pun intended) instance of this is Levar Burton taking Neil Gaiman up on his offer of the use of his stories to produce Twitter livestreams of Levar Burton Reads. (Friday at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern for adults.)
Me, I’m turning to old favorites to help me cope with a world I can’t control. (Although, come to think of it, I’m using new technology to do so, so I guess I’m in the hybrid coping camp.) I’m re-binge-watching Agatha Christie’s Marple and Agatha Christie’s Poirot on Hulu and BritBox. I know how each episode ends but the known outcome is what makes them comforting.
How about you? How are you coping? By reading? By being read to? Watching film adaptations of books? Writing your own works, pieces that deal with—or resist—the times? Comment on the blog or join the discussion on Facebook or Twitter.
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