When the pandemic started in March 2020 schools were not prepared for the challenges that lay ahead. Lockdowns, stay-at-home orders and quarantines severely impacted students and teachers. An article published on AmericanProgress.org dated July 6, 2021 recalls that “there was a scramble to adjust to remote learning. Classes went online, school meal distribution became grab-and-go, and extracurricular activities and services were paused” (Ferren). Students were provided with Chromebooks (which were slow and difficult to use) – the more well off schools provided Apple laptops. Google Classroom, Canvas and Zoom allowed students to work remotely and provided face to face communication with each other and their teachers.
Some students found this new learning format difficult to cope with especially for students with ADHD. The photo below sums up the whole virtual learning experience. When I checked in on my teenager to make sure she was focused in virtual school, she was fast asleep under the covers while her Chromebook was logged in to a Math class and her cat got more out of the lesson than she did.
Under the covers – virtual learning during Math class
Google Trends: “virtual learning” took off in March 2020 during the initial outbreak of the pandemic, reaching its peak the week of August 16 that year as schools were making the decision to start the fall term off remotely.
To encourage take up of the Covid vaccines, governments and other health agencies produced stickers saying “I’ve got my Covid Vaccine” and variations of tit which were given to people who got vaccinated. Some created Facebook photo frames advocating support for the vaccination effort. Wearing the sticker and/or updating one’s Facebook photo frame can influence others to make the choice to get vaccinated.
In an article for USA Today, tech reporter Jessica Guynn writes: “Facebook is rolling out ‘I got my COVID-19 vaccine‘ profile frames. The frames, which come in English and Spanish, were created with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…Facebook will show you a summary in News Feed of how many people in your social circle or that you follow are using the frames. The increased peer pressure from the world’s largest social network comes as worries grow that not enough people want to get vaccinated even as more contagious COVID-19 variants spread” (Guynn). Featured below are a few stickers advocating vaccination.
Google Trends: The phrase “I got my Covid vaccine” peaked the week of April 25, 2021 which coincides with the Federal, state and local government mass vaccination campaigns.
During the outbreak of Covid-19, authorities developed national strategies to “flatten the curve” as a way to slow down the spread of Covid-19 using social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands.
The term began to appear online from March 2020. An article written for Statnews.com reports that “for many countries staring down fast-rising coronavirus case counts, the race is on to “flatten the curve.” The United States and other countries, experts say, are likely to be hit by tsunamis of Covid-19 cases in the coming weeks without aggressive public health responses. But by taking certain steps — canceling large public gatherings, for instance, and encouraging some people to restrict their contact with others — governments have a shot at stamping out new chains of transmission, while also trying to mitigate the damage of the spread that isn’t under control” (Branswell).
The epidemic curve is a visual representation of the number of infected persons requiring medical care over time. Health care systems, such as the UK’s National Health Service, can be overloaded if too many infected people seek services at the same time. This results in overcrowding and lack of patient care, and in some instances, health care rationing.
An animated graphic showing how the epidemic curve can be flattened to reduce healthcare capacity using masks, hand washing and social distancing
Google Trends: flatten the curve peaked during the week of March 15, 2020 which coincides with the outbreak of Covid-19 when governments were quick to institute measures for reducing the spread of the infection.
Mostly seen online, this derogatory epithet is used to describe people who fully support vaccines and believes they are the ultimate Covid cure. The term has appeared online since at least August 12, 2021 when a Twitter user going by the name “Arkad The Covid Survivor” defined vaxtard as “a person who wants to force the mRNA injection on EVERYONE, regardless of their current age, health, lifestyle, natural immunity or personal beliefs, for a illness with a 99% survival rate.“
The following month, RealJason, an Urban Dictionary contributor, submitted a definition for vaxtard as “someone who naively believes that the COVIDvaccines are the ultimate cure and will make COVID disappear. Despite the fact that these vaccines are entirely experimental and are seeing a rapid decline in efficiency over time.“
Although the term is not popular enough to be picked up in Google Trends, it did appear as a meme on the website America’sBestPics.com. The meme also appears on T-shirts sold by a few apparel websites.
Vaxtard meme. Contributor unknown.
Social Media Trends as of May 7, 2022
Facebook #vaxtard: people are posting about this Instagram #vaxtard: 14 posts
To encourage take up of the Covid vaccine in Ohio, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced on May 12, 2021, the Vax-A-Million lottery. According to an article on WebMD, “the [lottery] awards $1 million to five vaccinated adults and a full-ride scholarship to Ohio public colleges to five vaccinated teenagers. On Wednesday, the first broadcast aired announcing two winners: Abigail Bugenske won the $1 million draw, and Joseph Costello won a scholarship” (Oliver).
Eligibility was open to permanent residents of Ohio aged 18 or older who had received at least one Covid-19 vaccine by the Sunday prior to each drawing. Although state law required that prizes be awarded to residents aged 18 or older, an exception was made for minors aged 12-17. Those who had been vaccinated would be awarded a full scholarship to any public university in Ohio. The lottery lasted five weeks.
The state of Ohio logo used for the Vax-A-Million lottery
Social Media Trends as of May 5, 2022
Facebook #vaxamillion: people are posting about this Instagram #vaxamillion: 672 posts TikTok #vaxamillion: 96,000 views YouTube #vaxamillion: less than 100 videos and channels
Google Trends: A few days after Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced the lottery, the search term Vax-A-Million reached peak interest during the week of May 16, 2021.
Many people have gone through the pain of divorce. There are often feelings of rejection and bereavement especially if the divorce ended acrimoniously. The stresses of divorce are more complicated in the pandemic era. Periods of lockdown and stay-at-home orders exacerbated existing marital problems (or created new ones) especially when both spouses are constantly in close proximity to each other, either because they work remotely or lost their job due to the pandemic.
In the United Kingdom, “divorce enquiries [rose] by 122% from July to October 2020 compared to the same period in 2019” (Hatley). Celebrities are not immune from the effects of divorce. On March 4, 2022 the celebrity website TMZ reported that Kanye West penned a poem about the end of his marriage to Kim Kardashian, in which he wrote: “Divorce feels like full blown Covid … like your doctor don’t know s**t … like your walking on glass … like you’re running through a glass wall … like you’re being bullied in a class hall.”
Most courts were closed to in-person hearings so legal proceedings had to take place virtually. The author of this blog went through a divorce in 2021. It was surreal to be sitting at home using Zoom to talk to two mediators (both lovely women in their 60s) and my soon-to-be ex spouse (who had logged in from work) about how to end our marriage and divide our assets. Meetings with my lawyer were conducted over Zoom. My divorce hearing was conducted over Zoom which was weird. On my laptop screen was the judge, my lawyer, and my spouse (who had logged in from work). Her WiFi connection kept cutting out so the judge had to keep repeating his questions. Finally, it was all over and I was newly divorced. Because of the pandemic, the whole “going to court” thing was completely bypassed. The situation where everything was done virtually was bizarre and felt like a Black Mirror episode. One minute you’re married, and the next you’re not.
In the pandemic era, there are complicated issues involving divorce and child custody. Some of them involve disputes about whether to get the kids vaccinated where one parent wants this and the other disagrees. Child swap, especially across state lines where there are travel restrictions, can create contention. Custody issues are more complex if one parent has Covid-19 and the other doesn’t, or a child has Covid-19 but their siblings test negative for Covid. Who gets the kids during quarantine? One legal blog post commented that “parents who were otherwise exercising regular parenting time with their children may now be forced to exercise virtual parenting time only during a period of self-quarantine or even longer if it is deemed that the children are at risk” (Danaher). Finally, many people who lost their jobs during the pandemic fell behind with alimony and child support payments leaving the other parent struggling to provide for their child’s basic needs.
For anyone experiencing a Covid divorce or separation visit DivorceMag.com and check out their resources page. They offer good advice for individuals and families going through this crisis such as child custody, co-parenting and finances.
Google Trends: covid divorce reached its peak during the week of March 29, 2020 which just so happened to coincide with lockdown and stay-at-home orders.
In the early days of the pandemic, I started noticing stores displaying “Exact Change” signs at the registers including self-service registers. I thought this was strange since lockdown restrictions permitted us to go out and buy groceries and those who preferred to pay in cash did so and those that didn’t used their debit or credit card. Surely the cash spent would recirculate throughout the financial system just as it always has done. Did the Treasury suddenly stop minting coins?
Exact change only sign
On July 22, 2020 the Market Place website published an article Where did all the coins go? which attempts to answer this question. The authors explained that because of “a dip in consumer spending and retailers urging customers to pay with cards instead of cash, the coronavirus pandemic has taken coins out of circulation and created a shortage across the United States. By now, it’s likely you’ve seen signs at your grocery store asking you to pay with exact change. The Federal Reserve has created a task force to study the problem. With representatives from the U.S. Mint, Walmart, Coinstar and the Fed’s own experts, the task force is hoping to find solutions for bringing coins back into this economy.” As of the date of this blog post, the “Exact Change” signs have not gone away.
Google Trends: exact change really took off around July 2020 when news articles started to appear about this phenomenon. The popularity of the term reached its peak during the week of July 19, 2020.
According to MedPageToday.com, “At-Home Antibody Testing assesses for IgM and IgG antibodies from COVID-19. The procedure is similar to a fingerstick blood glucose test…A test kit would be sent via mail or picked up at a local pharmacy or lab. Individuals would then prick their finger as for a blood glucose test. Results appear in 10-15 minutes, similar to a home pregnancy test with colorimetric reading.”
The title of this post is the opening line to Donna Ashworth’s poem that she published on February 26, 2021. She hails from Scotland and is a famous author and poet.
This poem echoed how many of us felt during the height of the pandemic when many countries were under lockdown and people were restricted to working from home and only being allowed out to buy groceries and attend medical appointments. The poem went viral and appeared in memes, though sadly the meme did not credit the author.
You’re not imagining it, nobody seems to want to talk right now. Messages are brief and replies late. Talk of catch ups on zoom are perpetually put on hold. Group chats are no longer pinging all night long.
It’s not you. It’s everyone. We are spent. We have nothing left to say. We are tired of saying ‘I miss you’ and ‘I cant wait for this to end’. So we mostly say nothing, put our heads down and get through each day.
You’re not imagining it. This is a state of being like no other we have ever known because we are all going through it together but so very far apart.
Hang in there my friend. When the mood strikes, send out all those messages and don’t feel you have to apologise for being quiet.
Since the widespread adoption of the Internet, people have been remote working for years, though this mainly applied to tech workers. Once the pandemic started in 2020 many states and countries began the process of lock-down and asked workers, where possible, to do their work from home. As a result, meeting apps like Zoom took off in popularity as more and more business meetings were conducted virtually. As of the date of this blog post, more companies have asked their workers to go back to the office, though it seems the full time 9-5 workweek has disappeared in favor of hybrid working arrangements.
On March 12, 2020 my office closed and we were all told to work from home with the expectation we would be back after two weeks of quarantine. Well, two weeks turned into two years and I am still working remotely though I’m now on a hybrid schedule. When I went back to the office in 2021 I was the only person there. The silence was deafening and the atmosphere felt like something from the movie I am Legend starring Will Smith. Everyone’s desk calendar was still open to March 2020. It was as if time had stood still.
Back at the office: a year after lock-down, everyone’s desk calendar was still open to March 2020.
Social Media Trends as of March 14, 2022
Google Trends: remote working is not a new term, but during the pandemic it reached its peak during the week of March 15, 2021. It dipped for a while but started to increase during March 2022 as the effects of the pandemic waned and more employees were asked to go back to the office.
