Items
topic_interest is exactly
social media
-
2020-03-19
#FormalFriday
"Since everyday is Corona Casual now, I propose we start doing 'Formal Friday.' Break out the tux or gown, do your hair, and settle in for a fancy day at home." I posted that on Facebook on Thursday, March 19, 2020. The next day, I shared a photo of myself in a cocktail dress, pearls, and lipstick, laptop balanced on my knee, chaotic home office behind me. In the weeks that followed, I would post a reminder on Thursday, and on Friday folks would post photos of themselves in their finery. These were friends from all aspects of my life, people who didn't know each other, using the hashtag #formalfriday and adding a little levity to an anxiety ridden time. For me, it was one of the only bright spots. Work from home started March 12th. Five days before that, my husband had informed me our marriage wasn't working. And five days after, my mom went into the hospital, where she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Over the course of 10 days, my world had been ripped out from under me. The emotional isolation was crushing. Compounded with the physical and social isolation - I was living each day on the verge of collapse. But on Fridays, I would put on makeup, jewelry, and a gown and pretend that everything was hunky dory for social media. That my level of fear, of anxiety, of panic were on the same level as everyone else's. I would take a photo, sometimes with my daughter, and post on Facebook. Then I would take off the sparkles and finery and return to the dull reality of leggings and dread. Formal Friday went on for eleven weeks. I saved my favorite dress for last: A full-length gown with a black and white striped skirt (it has pockets!) and crop-top illusion. In the photo, my daughter is in her pajamas because we had given up on making her get dressed by then. I'm clenching onto her and she's flopped backward, totally over the whole thing. There's a smile on my face that doesn't reach my eyes. After I posted it, I had multiple friends reach out to ask if I was OK. We were three months into a two-week quarantine, yet the pandemic was a solid third on the list of things I was most worried about. The strain was starting to show on my body, in my face. Looking back at the photos now, I think about the illusion of social media and how easy it is to pretend that what someone posts is reflective of their full reality. I was going through the most challenging time in my life, but based on what I put on Facebook, I had enough joy to play dress-up once a week. At the same time... I still had enough joy to play dress-up once a week. And it brought me joy to see other people do the same. Seeing my friends, and friends of friends, and screenshots of zoom meetings, where people were in suits, or gowns, or just putting on a little make-up because that's all they could muster, kept a flame of happiness glowing inside me and helped me get through those first eleven weeks. It was silly, it wasn't a representation of reality, but when my whole world was on fire, it was nice to feel beautiful with friends. -
2020-04-04
HIST30060: Daniel Andrews' Facebook Post
This is a screenshot of a Facebook post made by Daniel Andrews’ public page on 4th April 2020. This post exemplifies the Victorian Premier’s ability to co-opt social media trends in promoting his own political agenda. Popular in early 2020, the meme followed the template of “Good morning to everyone except,” followed by exclusion of a relatively a niche social group. This screenshot illustrates the subtle use of social media as propaganda by the Andrews government. Andrews’ social media pages are seldom thought of as such, as the skill of his social media team has allowed him to maintain a popular and likeable social media persona. In an age of ubiquitous social media use, the Andrews government has used social media very effectively to protect its legitimacy and justify its methods. For example, the screenshot highlights the use of guilt by the Andrews government to legitimise health restrictions. The government consistently stressed that the pandemic restrictions were for the benefit of the public and necessitated complete compliance. Those who rejected health advice were endangering the entire community and “putting everyone at risk.” This post therein encapsulates sophisticated government propaganda and the co-opting of social media for political purposes. I selected this post as someone influenced by the sophisticated campaign of government messaging. It lead me to resent rule-breakers and see the prolonged restrictions as a legitimate use of government authority to protect the public. As someone who entered the pandemic as a supporter of the Labor Party and Daniel Andrews personally, I no longer think the severity and length of the lockdowns were necessary. Yet, his social media presence certainly made him likeable, funny, and relatable at the time. -
2022-05-03
COVID protocol and abortion
This is a tweet from CJ_isnowblue regarding the leaked opinion from the Supreme Court on abortion. She is criticizing the way Republicans have protested for their rights to bodily autonomy on things such as mask mandates and vaccines, while wanting to restrict the bodily rights women have. Throughout the pandemic, the abortion debate has come up a time or two due to the "my body, my choice" rhetoric being used by those against masks and vaccines. Prior to this, it was mainly used for discussions on abortion, but now the two subjects are getting linked in public discourse. -
2022-05-02
You can't co-opt "my body, my choice"
This is a tweet from Anna Akana regarding the leaked opinion draft from the Supreme Court, which would overturn Roe v. Wade. Here, she is criticizing people who use "my body, my choice" in regards to masks, but don't allow it for when it comes to women's reproductive health. -
2022-06-09
Sharing source-backed information can help reduce COVID-19 misinformation online
This is a news story from Penn State University by Jessica Hallman. A recent study has shown that user corrections given back and forth on social media has helped reduce the spread of misinformation. Through sharing source-backed information, people were able to pick out fake news easier. -
2022-06-04
After coming out during the pandemic, many LGBTQ+ folks look to 2022’s Pride with a mix of emotions
This is a news story from The Seattle Times by Scott Greenstone. Pride has changed quite a bit over the last two years due to COVID. For a while, Pride celebrations were held virtually. The in-person events in 2022 will now resemble what Pride was like prior to the virus. Included in this article are personal stories of people who did not come out until the pandemic, with this year being the first year they will attend Pride in-person. For some, they didn't realize they were trans until the pandemic hit. Rhys Hutton, for instance, did not know he was trans, and is also coming to grips with having autism. Hutton's story of how he came to the realization started on TikTok when the algorithm kept showing videos of trans-masculine people. This exposure helped him figure out his identity more. Stories like this are not uncommon, according to a recent Gallup poll, ten percent of Millennials and twenty percent of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ+. -
2022-05-11
Fact Checkers
This is an Instagram post by covid_antivax. This post is in criticism of social media removing posts deemed "misinformation" about COVID and the vaccine. The tags from this user, like #depopulation, suggest that the goal of COVID and the vaccines is to reduce the population size. The censoring of information regarding the virus and the vaccine has been troublesome for myself. I do not think it is the right of social media to dictate what can and cannot be said, barring anything illegal, like death threats. I think it is a dangerous trajectory when these multinational companies start deciding what governing bodies and people should think. It brings into question people's actual rights to speech. People should have the right to voice their opinion on subjects like this. If people are prevented from speaking out as much on social media, they will get driven to more niche websites and forums to discuss things, which in turn help create more echo chambers. The great thing about free speech is the ability to bounce ideas off with other people and be given the opportunity to decide for myself what is right with more information available. Taking this away will make it harder to really test ideas and make them more refined. This is more my criticism of social media in general, but the talk on the virus and the vaccines has noticeably made it worse for any side to reconcile. -
2020-11-26
Thanksgiving 2020
This was the homemade stuffing I made for Thanksgiving of 2020. Due to social distancing my family had in order to protect people, my extended family ate at two separate locations. For me, that meant going to my parent's place next door and dining with my aunt and uncle. My grandparents had their own celebration with other family members. One interesting twist to this was that we all ended up eating the same food between both houses because it was split up. This is why I ended up making a lot more stuffing than I normally would for Thanksgiving. In addition to this, I brought over some homemade cranberry sauce and homemade jam. I had learned to make canned jam during 2020, and I had some leftover to give. Everyone enjoyed the food I made and my aunt said it was some of the best stuffing she ever tasted, and she isn't really a big fan of stuffing. Sadly, the stuffing was not enough to ease tensions on the politics happening at the time. Other parts of the day included my family getting into a political discussion on the 2020 election. I had different views on it than my family did, so I left once that started. Later on in the evening, me and my husband went over to my in-laws. My sister-in-law was sick with COVID, so my father-in-law gave her food from the evening for her to take home. I was bummed about that, but people did not want to take their chances of getting others sick, which I understood. My father-in-law invited someone that year from Egypt for the occasion. It also turned into a political discussion there. I felt more comfortable voicing my opinions there than I did with my immediate family, but it was still draining. It made an otherwise okay evening into something that I don't want to think about. 2020 was a hard year for many people, and the election being so close to Thanksgiving made it very awkward. It has toned down since then, but I think people being locked down and exposed to constant social media and news coverage made it harder for people to actually discuss things. I think it's a good thing to be informed, but I do not believe the information overload many dealt with during 2020 was healthy. It even took a toll on me, as it made my mental health worse. Between the lockdowns, protests, and election, it was hard for me to take all at once. My only real solace was school and my husband, as both forced me to think of things not happening at the very moment. As a history major, I find it easier to think of events in the past than I do the present at times. It's why I really like the medieval period in Europe because it is far enough removed from the current era, so I am less likely to get heated about some of the topics brought up. With current events, I need to take a break at times. It was very obvious that the Thanksgiving from 2020 was not something that really made my mental health better. I enjoyed the food and the company, but I had a hard time wanting to discuss politics with people that I interact with regularly. It's one thing to discuss with strangers I might never see again, but completely another to talk about it with people that you need to interact with daily. Now that things are back to normal, for the most part, the tensions are not as high. I find myself being able to discuss politics again with some family members without it going badly. Overall, I would say that Thanksgiving 2020 was a good social experiment on how much overexposure to media and lockdowns can be detrimental to personal relationships. Seeing things behind a screen too often and being away from others takes a toll on humanity. This is why I was so glad when things started opening up again because people need to be out more and with others. As much as technology has helped us communicate, it still can't make up for the human interaction everyone needs. My own mental health has been much better since the ending of the restrictions and I don't want to go back to them again. -
2022-04-29
Double Boosted
This is an Instagram post by funky.buttlovin. This person received their two extra doses of the COVID vaccine. People taking selfies has been a common trend on social media after having received a COVID vaccine. -
2022-04-28
What Musk's free-speech Twitter could unleash
This is a news story from Axios by Ina Fried. This is about the ramifications that could happen with Elon Musk's Twitter buyout. The author is worried about both election and COVID misinformation becoming more common on Twitter again. Other things added to this list include: sharing of manipulated media, impersonating others, increase of spam content, hateful conduct, and forms of violence being allowed. -
2022-04-26
WHO Warns About the Dangers of Health Misinformation as Musk Takes Over Twitter
This is a news story from Bloomberg News by Andy Hoffman and Clara Hernanz Lizarraga. Since Elon Musk has officially acquired Twitter, it has prompted groups like the World Health Organization to give warnings on COVID misinformation. Mike Ryan, the executive director of the health emergencies program at the WHO issued a statement on Musk buying Twitter for $44 billion dollars. “When anyone reaches a position in life where they have so much influence over the way information is shared with communities, they take on a huge responsibility,” Ryan said at the media briefing in Geneva. “We wish Mr. Musk luck with his endeavors to improve the quality of information we all receive.” Throughout the pandemic, the WHO has worked to make sure correct information about the pandemic and vaccines are being spread. The WHO has an overall fear now that bad information could be spread more easily about COVID and possibly cause more death. -
2022-04-11
It's Not Over Yet
This is a Twitter update from DrLindaMD. This is about a doctor rebutting claims that COVID is over now. She says that she has had five patients in the last week who thought they just had a cold, but it turned out that they had COVID. None of those patients chose to isolate because "it was just a cold." -
2022-04-18
Striking Down Mask Mandates
This is a Twitter update by artisfire1. This is about a judge striking down mandates on planes. Tony, otherwise known as atrisfire1, blames it on the selfishness of the right wing in the United States. The comic underneath that is posted helps demonstrate this person's feeling on the matter. The "I'm with them" sign held by an anthropomorphic coronavirus, is there with the anti-mandate crowd, making it apparent that the author of this tweet sees the anti-mandate crowd as the ones who spread the virus the most. -
2022-04-08
The Herman Cain Award: the prize no one wants to get and creators want to destroy
This is a news story from WBUR by Amory Sivertson, Ben Brock Johnson, and Quincy Walters. This is an interview that has been transcribed about the subreddit r/TheHermanCainAward. This subreddit has over 500,000 members. It is named after Herman Cain, a former businessman and Republican presidential candidate, who died in 2020 after getting the Coronavirus. One of the moderators, "Hammy", says that specific anti-mask and anti-vaccine people are featured on the subreddit in an attempt to influence, and in turn, take what is posted publicly, and throw it back in their faces. In order to get an "award" on the subreddit, one has to die. Nominations are for those that go to the hospital. The subreddit makes sure that all information is verified so people cannot call it "fake." They also go to lengths to black-out names, faces, and places in order to protect privacy. Though, even with attempts to make things anonymous, people are still found out. The moderator "Hammy" also does not wish to include their real name in this interview for fear of harassment. Glenn, someone that got featured in the subreddit, was also in this interview to explain his reasoning. Many of his doubts stem from the way the government has been handling it, in addition to the producers of the vaccine themselves asking for more boosters after the initial vaccine, which to him, doesn't seem normal for a vaccine. Glenn also recounts getting lots of harassment on his own Facebook page after getting featured in the subreddit, saying it isn't treatment their own kids should have to see, like people cheering on his death. Despite being vaccinated, "Hammy" contracted "long COVID." Glenn ended up with COVID pneumonia. -
2021-08-03
The Pandemic Is Not Over
This is an Instagram post by courtneyahndesign. This user is warning people about a new variant and how it is affecting others. She brings up the CDC and what they say about this issue. She says that if you are not, you should be wearing a mask and get vaccinated. -
2022-01-18
Protect the Vulnerable
This is an Instagram post by courtneyahndesign. This is an Instagram post critiquing people's lack of care for others during the pandemic. She thinks it is ridiculous that people are already going places maskless and being careless with how much they expose themselves. At the end, she recommends for people to go and get tested. -
2022-01-21
School Apologizes After Viral Photo Of Teacher Taping Mask To Student's Face Outrages Parents
This is a news story from Your Tango by Nia Tipton. This is about a middle school in Pennsylvania, where a video of a teacher taping a mask to a student caused outrage. The photo was taken at Pennfield Middle School in Hatfield. The photo went viral and appeared on Sean Hannity's website. The middle school announced that they are going to conduct an investigation over this scandal. Parents also expressed their anger at school board meetings over this. The mother of the student getting his mask taped to his face says that she never intended for the story to go viral. She used the photo to gain support from a Facebook group prior to a school board meeting. She says that other individuals in the group took it upon themselves to spread this story further. -
2022-03-07
There’s A ‘Vibe Shift’ On Reddit—People Are Sharing Heartfelt Stories Of Loneliness And Isolation Due To The Pandemic And Working From Home
This is a news story from Forbes by Jack Kelly. This story is about loneliness felt from isolation that people are discussing on Reddit. Subreddits like r/antiwork and r/wallstreetbets, a lot of these conversations are sharing details about their feelings they might not want to share elsewhere. Since Reddit allows people to submit anonymously, it gives others an environment they can give more details on subjects they maybe wouldn't tell to even their family members. Some of these discussions are about those that are single and work from home, which creates a very solitary experience. One woman, 27, on Reddit describes trying to join Facebook groups and do online dating to have more interaction during the pandemic. She says she felt a slight panic seeing her other friends get married, have kids, or engaged, which made her feel even lonelier. Others describe the challenges with finding remote work and needing support to help cope with that hardship. The lack of socialization has had massive effect on young adults just starting out in life, and it has given some worse mental health as a result. While some might thrive with being alone, others have suffered. Another woman, 32, says that prior to the pandemic, she was a 'social butterfly' and outgoing, but is now antisocial and a shut-in. She says that she lacks the motivation to go places like she used to. In addition to this, her place of employment is considering permanent work-from-home for employees, making some of those social struggles even worse. Some Redditors ended up giving advice for people that shared stories like these, such as smiling every day towards someone, or going outside for 15 minutes or longer. Simple things like this were common suggestions to help with some people's mental health issues induced because of the pandemic isolation. I think that this story helps show some of the negative effects young people have had with readjusting their entire lives, and then feeling lost once they get too used to it when things are starting to go back to "normal." -
2022-04-05
Jerry Gryglak 'humbled' to receive Governor's Citizenship Medal for daily Reddit COVID updates
This is a news story from The Denver Gazette by Lindsey Toomer. Since June 2020, Jerry Gryglak has posted COVID updates on the subreddit r/CoronavirusColorado, and breaking down the information to be more user-friendly. This has helped Redditors get better information on the virus. Due to his diligence, Governor Jared Polis is recognizing Gryglak as one of Colorado's COVID Heroes and will get the Governor's Citizenship Medal. Gryglak left posts on Reddit with updates on deaths, hospitalizations, vaccines, and other such information. Gryglak is unsure how much longer he will be posting these updates. -
2022-03-16
COVID Surge in American Samoa
American Samoa, a small U.S territory located in the South Pacific, was the last place to experience the surging numbers of covid cases. When the coronavirus was declared a pandemic at the beginning of 2020, American Samoa was the only place on earth not to have any cases of COVID. To combat the disease, the government of American Samoa barred incoming flights for a whole year from the United States and their neighboring island of Western Samoa. Although the island did not have any COVID cases, the government promoted and maintained the restrictions throughout the island. However, after opening the borders for inbound flights after a year, American Samoa did not report its first Covid case until September 2021. Since then, travel restrictions and quarantine for travelers were enforced, but eventually, a big surge of cases began to be seen in mid-February of this year. The opening of borders to inbound flights brought the disease into the island. Coronavirus cases jumped from only a hundred to 555. It is still considered relatively low worldwide, but it is high for a small island. Fortunately, no fatalities are reported, with more than 80 percent of the population vaccinated. The attached image is data reported weekly by the American Samoa Department of Health to the public to show how many cases are positive in each village and totaled in American Samoa. The people were worried that the disease might cause some fatalities, the government was quick to impose a lockdown restriction called "CODE RED," which barred social gatherings, schools, traveling, and work on February 22. Although the public panicked with the news of coronavirus cases on the island, the government worked to assure the safety of the people by making sure people were aware of the number of cases and the situation with live news updates and weekly data by the Department of Health. I was also worried when I first heard of the surging number of COVID cases at home. Although I moved to the states for school, I made sure I am kept up to date with what is happening back at home. With the fatalities I saw here in the states with Covid, I was also worried for my parents. But it was comforting to see the live updates by the government on social media which kept me closer to home. -
2020-03-19
Museums, Curators, and Artists Find Innovative Solutions for Showing Art in a Pandemic
This Artsy article written in the beginning of the pandemic discusses the innovative ways that museums and art professionals used technology to maintain relevance and viewership during lockdown. -
2021-09-10
HIST30060 Group-chat shenanigans
Lockdown shifted the nature of community dynamics in our local area. We live in a peri-urban region on the outskirts of the Yarra Ranges; as such, neighbouring properties are separated by large swathes of Australian bush. This can be isolating at times; it’s very different to suburban living. Our street (which spans about 7kms) and adjacent streets have a WhatsApp group chat named ‘Fireguard’, which allows residents to share information about fire safety, planned burn-offs and emergency warnings. However, during lockdown the chat was increasingly used for the purposes of socialisation. Suddenly, distant neighbours began sharing jokes and engaging in conversations about lockdown living, through the chat. The chat became a site of social interaction that the members of our area probably didn’t realise they needed, until they did. We eventually decided to create a separate chat for general/social purposes only, the title ‘WHICHBIN’ constituting a friendly inside joke about one particular chat member who never fails to ask, “which bin?” she needs to put out for collection each week. -
2021-10-12
Mekenna Miller Oral History, 2021/10/12
This is a personal reflection about how fear is an unavoidable consequence of pandemics. -
2021-10-12
Mekenna Miller Oral History, 2021/10/12
This is a personal reflection on current issues regarding Covid-19 and social media censorship. -
2020
Social Media Interactions
I thought this interaction represented a common argument nowadays between people who are not as sympathetic to how the world has changed, and someone else who is trying to counter those negative ideas. -
2020-04-08
Keeping Concerts Alive
The pandemic forfeited any chance of attending that concert or planned music festival. Although online meetings weren't anyone's favorite, the switch from in-person concerts to Instagram and Facebook live concerts was a success. These quarantine concerts were able to keep the public entertained in their homes while keeping the spirit of live music alive. -
2021-09-24
Power of 100 Vaxx Fest poster
Shared in Facebook by Tsuutina Comm. The poster is directed at indigenous people in the Canadian Province of Alberta. It advertises three days of events (24-26 September 2021) that those who get vaccinated at the event will also receive a swag bag; that there will be draws for gift cards, Macbooks, and iPads; social media influencers present; live music; drive-in-movies; and food. -
2021-09-16
Melissa Amante, Arina Konovalova, and Elisabeth Knott Oral History, 2021/09/16
We described the social and emotional challenges that we faced when the lockdown first began. This included the topics of education, social media, and mental health. -
2021-08-04
Tips from the ER
Steve is a retired ER tech who has combined comedy with medical advice. In this clip, he uses humor to break down why being vaccinated is better than avoiding the vaccine even though it is still possible to contract the covid virus. -
2021-08-10
Facebook conversations
I came across this conversation on Facebook yesterday. I thought it was a good portrayal of what's going on in society today. As everyone is trying to get back to "normal" businesses are starting to require their employees to get vaccinated. Although most people who are fighting this option hardly ever admit that there are actually three options - get vaccinated, get tested regularly, or find a new job. I found it interesting that the original poster revised his original post to add that he was not looking to debate the vaccine even though it's clear what happened. -
2021-08-03
Control Group
It's sadly interesting how many people are clinging onto this thought of their rights being infringed on. I have a lot of acquaintances on social media that have excuses like liberty and rights. Some people still believe there is a government conspiracy, that we have been implanted with a mind-controlling chip, or that were being willfully expereimented on. I have come to a point where, as frustrating as it is, I don't care if people won't get vaccinated. It's a sad thought but I hope they done die of the virus. Like with many things in life I think humor does a really good job cooling heated situations down. I laughed louder than I thought I would when I came across this meme on my feed. -
2021-05-14
"Disinformation Dozen"
This article discusses "misleading claims and outright lies about COVID-19 vaccines that proliferate on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter". According to the article, 12 people are behind the majority of the misinformation surrounding COVID and the vaccine that leads to conspiracy theories. Many of these theories have led some social media users to avoid the vaccine and ignore scientific facts. It is scary to think that such a small group of people are in control of so much of what we see on social media. What this small group shares and communicates to users are so widespread... I can't open a social media app without seeing some sort of conspiracy theory about COVID or the vaccine. We are so close to overcoming the pandemic, but this type of misinformation is holding us back. -
2020-04-13
Quarantine Social Media Takeover
Ever since this Covid-19 breakout and call for quarantine, I have seen nothing but quarantine posts take over social media. From memes to viral videos to random photos at home, you can scroll through social media for more than two minutes without seeing some call to quarantine. -
2020-04-13
Forgot my vaccine card to my second appointment
I forgot my vaccine card to my second Moderna dose appointment at ASU. It's silly of me to forget about something so major. They asked if I had a photo of it and I thought they wanted it to prove I had received one. I did have a photo but I had covered the information on it for a picture for my story on instagram. They just waived me along and gave me my second dose anyway, they came to me about 5 minutes after my shot with a new vaccine card. Now I have two different vaccine cards, maybe one will be my future "travel id". -
2020-11-01
Melaine Robinson Oral History, 2020/11/01
Hello, My name is Melaine, I live in Hughesdale, Victoria, Australia and I would like to share this story of subtle community spirit that came through during the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020. I am also legally blind. Thank you for your time. Melaine -
2021-03-21
Tiktok Trend involving Internet Outages
This video utilizes a Tiktok trend involving a specific audio as well as filter to illustrate internet issues an individual is facing. The audio is a clip from the song 'Got Me Good' by Ciara. -
2024-01-26
Tiktok about Internet Outage/Site Outages
This tiktok is from an individual showing several site outages/internet connectivity issues across multiple major sites. The caption indicates that he was trying to complete his work when faced with this issue. He is utilizing a site that indicates which sites are down which is shown in the video. -
2021-03-11
Tiktok Skit about Internet outage
This short video from Tiktok is about an individual dealing with internet issues and being frustrated about connectivity issues. It seems in part to be satirical as he unplugs and plugs the modem back in. -
2021-04-05
Greenlee County (AZ) Health Department's Daily COVID-19 Updates through April 5, 2021
The Greenlee County Health Department uses its Facebook page to disseminate daily information related to the COVID-19 pandemic to its residents. The daily COVID-19 statistics are displayed as an image on the daily Facebook post, which allows examination of the department's content and messaging before and after the pandemic. Governor Doug Ducey declared a state of emergency in Arizona on March 11, 2020, which seems inconsistent with GCHD's daily posts from that period. Language on the GCHD posts consistently advised residents to stay home if they felt ill, rather than being consistent with Governor Ducey's voluntary Stay Home orders. For example, the March 30, 2021, press release to update a new active COVID-19 infection in Greenlee County reads as follows: "For Immediate Release, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, Greenlee County, Arizona. Public Information Contact: Steve Rutherford (928) 865-2601 NEW RELEASE - COVID-19 Positive Test in Greenlee County The Greenlee County Health Department is investigating one (1) new confirmed case of COVID-19. The case will put our current total at five hundred and sixty-nine (569) confirmed Greenlee County COVID-19 cases... We would like to remind the community to use masks appropriately when outside of the home, practice social distancing, wash your hands frequently, and do not go into the public when you are feeling sick, unless you are seeking medical attention." These updates demonstrate a significant dichotomy between the rural and urban experiences during this pandemic. -
2021-02-18
Black Doctors Consortium 24hr Philadelphia Vaxathon Feb 19 - Feb 20
The Black Doctors Consortium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania planned to administer vaccines at the Liacouras Center at Temple University. It was to last 24 hours from Feb 19 12PM to Feb 20 12PM. It aimed to serve those who "live[d] in the hardest hit zip codes." No appointments were necessary. The original poster, handle @dralastanford, posted a series of photographs that helped answer some of the most frequently asked questions. These included the zip codes they were aiming for. These zip codes were specifically chosen as African Americans had "more than 50% of [the] death[s] related to COVID-19." With so much confusion over the vaccine and how to get it, this organization tried to make it an easy process. They assured that there would be designated lines for those who pre-registered and those who didn't. -
2021-02-19
Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium’s 24-hour Walk-Up Vaccination Site @ The Liacouras Center
The original poster updated their social media feed (Twitter), in the form of a thread, about the vaccination site at the Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The vaccines were administered by the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium (https://blackdoctorsconsortium.com/). The poster shared videos and photos of the people lining up to get their vaccines, which lasted hours. Since the mission was to get people vaccinated, there were some who had pre-registered for it. Unfortunately, even some of those people still had to wait a long time. It's really saddening to see how everyone waiting had to wait in freezing weather, and it seems that if they left for food, the restroom, or otherwise, their spot would just be taken. As written in the last screenshot, there were thousands of doses still left to give at that point, and they weren't sure how long it would take to do so. -
2021-02-20
8 Reasons Why BIPOC Are Not Getting Vaccinated Fast Enough
The following social media post on Instagram by handle @lauraberthlima is an infographic of 8 reasons why BIPOC are not getting vaccinated fast enough. The original poster made it clear that it’s a myth how BIPOC aren’t getting vaccinated due to their distrust, and that it’s actually the difficulty in getting the vaccine. There are a few reasons that are easily guessed, such as inaccessibility and plain racism. However, the graphic and caption explain the reasons a bit more. That includes how the BIPOC-designated sites for vaccinations are being booked by non-BIPOC folks; leaving the BIPOC population without a place to get vaccinated. Many of the posts on this archive can tell you about the vaccine rollout, how there are goals for herd immunity, and that some people have been getting vaccinated by now. This social media post tells me that BIPOC are not being considered for vaccination, and that the system of vaccine rollout right now is less than ideal. It’s as if the people in charge of the rollout are actively assuring that BIPOC folks do not get the COVID-19 vaccine, and are keeping them at risk by doing so. It’s dangerous and irresponsible, and such posts should be shared to as many people as possible. -
2021-01-29
Four Wensdays in January
This is a meme my friend shared in our discord, it recounts the absolute insanity that was January of 2021. The first image is of the failed coup attempt by enraged Trump supporters, white supremacists and fascists; who all stormed the capitol building with little to no resistance. While inside, they defaced the building, broke into offices and hunted for Vice President Mike Pence to hang for ‘betraying’ Donald Trump. The second photo came in response, depicting speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi holding the article of impeachment for Donald Trump. While it was argued that this was a pointless endeavor as Trump was virtually leaving office in a week, the main goal for impeachment was to prohibit Donald Trump from holding office ever again. The third image is the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States, this event was made possible by the presence of the national guard, where 21,000 soldiers were deployed to make sure nothing as similar as January 6th could occur. The streets were empty as roadblocks and military utility trucks cordoned off the area, massive fences were erected surrounding the structure and soldiers patrolled the area. Largely, it was believed there was going to be nationwide attacks on several capitol structures throughout the nation in response – yet nothing of substance happened. The final image, and my favorite, would be the assault on Wall Street. This is an insane story, so I’m going to be a little less formal but this is an incredibly significant event, it is an instance of effective class-warfare. I’m not going to explain stocks, but essentially what happened is hedge fund investors made a bet that GameStop would fail, they took several ‘shorts’ out on this company to profit from this bet – however, redditors on r/wallstreetbets caught wind of this and thought “what would happen if their bet was wrong,” they began investing heavily into the company, raising its value, and as a result, costing the hedge fund billionaires thousands. These thousands in losses became millions, then billions, as more and more working class and middle class people threw themselves onto the market, to eat the rich. It wasn’t about profit, about making a return, it was a message. Eventually, this fiasco showed Americans that there essentially is no such thing as the ‘free-market,’ as these large hedge funds began blocking people from purchasing stock, forcibly selling peoples stock, using their own funds to facilitate an artificial ‘scare.’ People lost so much after the initial manipulation, but it proved that the market was only free for the rich, that once anyone else began to emulate the fraudulent strategies of the wealthy elite, they would be struck down. This is currently on going, but I cannot stress enough – it is not about money, it’s about sending a message that people are done. It’d be funny if the federal government intervened on behalf of wall-street by bailing them out, before sending out those measly 2k stimulus cheques. For the archive, this photo represents the pace in which everything moved in 2021, and the absolute absurdity of where we are today. To think, when this began we were planning on a few weeks at home, we’d make sour dough bread, then we began missing our friends and family’s – then we were in the streets marching for civil rights, and the ability for people not to be murdered by police because of the colour of their skin, fascists stormed the government, the ex-president is being impeached, again, now we’re trying to destroy Wall Street, this pandemic is absolutely wild. -
2020-01-01
Ratatouille: the TikTok Musical
TikTok, an extremely popular social media app that allows users to upload short videos, never fails to showcase creativity. From dances to trends to recipes and more, it seems there is no limit to what its users can create. One of the most seemingly ridiculous examples of this is the “Ratatousical,” now formally known as “Ratatouille: the TikTok Musical.” User Emily Jacobsen began what became a viral movement by posting a short song she made up about the main character of the Disney/Pixar film Ratatouille, and it quickly picked up momentum. Soon more people began writing songs for the characters of the movie, choreographing dances, and designing sets for what became a very detailed crowd-sourced musical. Many joked that it needed to go to Broadway once Broadway reopened, and shared their dream cast for the show, posting song covers and orchestrations for the show. Due to the massive popularity it gained on TikTok, many official Broadway-related and Disney pages and websites began referencing the original song, playing along with the idea of this musical. Much to everyone’s surprise, on December 9, 2020, it was announced that an official virtual production of the show would be presented by Seaview Productions on January 1, 2021, featuring the original songs shared on TikTok with full orchestrations and Broadway actors performing them. The concert benefited The Actors Fund, a charity supporting workers in the performing arts and entertainment, and starred Titus Burgess (of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fame) as Remy. Through the sale of virtual tickets and donations, over $2 million was raised for the Actors Fund because of this show, which was met with overwhelming positivity. All of the original creators of the songs featured were compensated and praised, and the collaborative effort brought joy and excitement to performing arts workers and fans alike. What seemed like a silly trend on TikTok quickly brought together hundreds of thousands of people, allowing them to share in what brings them happiness even when still separated due to the pandemic. The money raised through this project will go on to support those who have been out of work from the closure of theatres and the entertainment industry, which has led countless numbers of individuals to be out of work since early in the pandemic. This effort to collaborate and create allowed individuals to return to the feeling of community and support often felt in the performing arts and provided a creative outlet for many. While nothing feels quite the same as seeing a musical live and in person, it is inspiring to know that the performing arts community is alive and well, even in the midst of a pandemic. If you haven’t checked it out, I’d highly recommend it. Here’s to Remy, the rat of all our dreams. -
2020-12-15
Pride 2020 Through Art: Handmade Garments
As many Pride celebrations were cancelled this year, many members of the LGBT community turned to social media to share how they were celebrating Pride in these strange times. This post displays a handmade crocheted shirt in the colors of the pride flag, made and shared by an individual seeking recognition for the work seeing as she had no celebration to wear it to. This just shows the dedication of the LGBT community to the celebration of Pride, which will be communicated to any future historians studying LGBT history. -
2020-12-15
Pride 2020 Through Art: Queer Media as Lego Minifigures
When I had the idea to focus a mini collection on the expression of sexuality during the pandemic, one of the things that came to mind was Pride 2020. I myself was going to attend the event in Boston this year, however, like much of the United States, the celebration was cancelled. However, I knew that the LGBT community wouldn’t just let June pass by without some celebration. This post from Reddit displays how one individual spent pride month with the goal of turning individuals from queer media into Lego minifigures. Queer characters in movies and television are not all that easy to find, so this individual’s work had the potential to introduce anyone who stumbles upon their posts to queer characters. This in itself amplifies the voices of the LGBT community, by in a way calling for the normalization of queer characters in media, and giving them a way to share their identities through projects they create. -
2020-04-15
stmarysstulife Instagram posts from Student Development & University Programming Council
These two posts are from the @stmarysstulife account. The Student Development and University Programming Council (UPC) made Tik Tok videos to the Full House "Everywhere You Look" song and the @stmarysstulife posted them. I think they posted this to show we're all in this together at St. Mary's and there are multiple people we can go to for help and support. -
2020-03-21
stmarysstulife Instagram posts
This is a series of Instagram posts from the @stmarysstulife account when St. Mary's University began adjusting to COVID-19. -
2020-10-27
Kim Kardashian Receives Backlash over COVID-19 Vacation Tweet
Celebrity Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) posts a tone-deaf tweet about vacationing for her 40th birthday. This was not well received by the public, as it was viewed as overly privileged and offensive to the many people out there struggling to make ends meet during this pandemic. This tweet has sparked many parody memes mocking Kim's tweet. -
2020-10-20
Triggering Tik Tok Sounds
The sounds in this video are from about 7 months ago, March 2020. Relatively, it wasn’t that long ago. And for me and many others, it feels like a lifetime ago because so much has happened this year. Many of us have had to grieve the loss of loved ones or our lives before the “new normal”. There’s been so much uncertainty with COVID-19, the economy, the 2020 election, and even our plans for next week. I was really struck by all of the comments accompanied with this video. And it really interests me how we turn to particular habits or media to cope with loss, uncertainty, and trauma. I feel like Tik Tok is a significant facet of 2020, especially for young adults and teenagers.