Author: theauthor2022

Categories
Pandemic Pandemic Art Pandemic Relationships

Isolationship

The pandemic caused many people to isolate themselves during periods of lockdown and quarantine. Because of these extraordinary circumstances, complete strangers may have isolated together sometimes resulting in a romantic relationship. It may also refer to two people kept apart because of lockdown or because they were in an online relationship but travel restrictions made it difficult or impossible to see each other.

According to Barry Popik, a contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term “isolationship” appeared on March 15, 2020 in a Tweet posted by Nyar Ombeyi, and as a Twitter hashtag posted by Stephen Trumble on March 18, 2020. Popik said the term was not used often enough to appear in Wiktionary or the Oxford English Dictionary. It does appear in the Urban Dictionary which defines the term as:

[a] long- or short-distance relationship between two people kept apart due to shelter-in-place constraints.

Their hot and heavy isolationship was getting weird, the limits of cyber romance coming clear. She lived three blocks away from him, they hadn’t been able to see the other for two weeks, each of them trapped in their apartments.

Monkey’s Dad

During lockdown, content creators Shawntia Key and Kerry Allen decided to make a web series called Isolationship which featured a “relatively-new couple, Lenae and Mitch, [who] have no choice but to learn how to navigate being trapped together. Every day. All day” (Isolationship.tv). The series was uploaded to YouTube during March 2021 and was produced entirely on smartphones.

courtesy of Louise

Social Media Trends as of September 23, 2022

Facebook #isolationship: 1,700 people are posting about this
Instagram #isolationship: 3,708 posts
TikTok #isolationship: 977,700 views

Google Trends: isolationship first appeared during the week of January 19, 2020 and peaked in March 2020 when most of the world was in lockdown.

isolationship search term

Sources:

Louise. “Coronavirus news dragging you down? Here are some hilarious memes & tweets to help lighten the mood – In an Isolationship” meme. The Honeycombers.com. URL: https://thehoneycombers.com/bali/funny-coronavirus-memes/.

Monkey’s Dad. “Isolationship.” Urban Dictionary. April 9, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Isolationship.

Popik, Barry. “Isolationship (isolated + relationship).” BarryPopik.com. March 25, 2020. URL: https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/isolationship.

Shawntia Key and Kerry Allen. “ISOLATIONSHIP.TV” Isolationship.tv. 2022. URL: https://isolationship.tv/#about-us.

Categories
Pandemic Treatment Virus

Paxlovid

Nirmatrelvir is an antiviral medication developed by Pfizer for treating mild to moderate cases of Covid-19. It is sold under the brand name Paxlovid.

The medication, which is taken orally, contains two medications: “Nirmatrelvir helps stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus from duplicating itself within the body. And ritonavir – a drug originally approved by the FDA for the treatment of HIV infection in adults and children – slows down the body’s breaking down of nirmatrelvir, allowing it to stay in the body longer” (Pelc).

In December 2021 the Food And Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Paxlovid had been granted Emergency Use Authorization. Eligibility requirements are as follows: “For the treatment of mild-to moderate COVID-19 in adults and children [12 years of age and older weighing at least 88 pounds (40 kg)] with a positive test for the virus that causes COVID-19, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death, under an EUA.” For more information on the medication, including possible side-effects, visit here.

Some patients reported a nasty metallic taste in their mouth after taking the medication that can last for a while. This condition is called dysgeusia. Despite this unpleasant side effect, medical experts strongly suggest continuing with the full course of the treatment (Pelc).

Social Media Trends as of September 11, 2022

Facebook #paxlovid: 7,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #paxlovid: 4,384 posts
TikTok #paxlovid: 16.7 million views
YouTube #paxlovid: 604 videos and 350 channels

Google Trends: paxlovid first appeared during the week of October 31, 2021 when news of the antiviral medication being used as a possible cure for the treatment of Covid-19 started to appear. The Omicron variant was also at its peak around this time. The popularity of Paxlovid as a search term reached its peak during the week of July 17, 2022 when the medication became more widely available.

paxlovid search term

Sources:

“EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION (EUA) OF PAXLOVID.” Food and Drug Administration. August 26, 2022. URL: https://www.fda.gov/media/155051/download.

Pelc, Corrie. “Paxlovid mouth: What is it and how to get rid of it.” Medical News Today. August 23, 2022. URL: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/paxlovid-mouth-what-is-it-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it.

Categories
Pandemic Virus

Face shield

A face shield is a clear plastic protective covering for the face which many people wore, in addition to the mask, for added protection against coronavirus. The California Department of Public Health produced a handout containing a list of frequently asked questions about face shields. Here is some more information:

A face shield is a transparent barrier that covers the face and is typically open at the sides and bottom..[It is] primarily used by health care workers to protect their face (eyes, nose, and mouth) from splashes and sprays of body fluids. Face shields are not commonly used alone, but are often worn with other protective equipment, such as respirators or surgical masks, to protect the wearer from Covid-19. Examples include a nurse caring for a hospitalized Covid-19 patient or a health professional collecting a nasal sample from a person being tested for Covid-19.

Face shields are not to be worn in place of masks. The illustration below shows the correct way to wear a face shield with a mask:

Image by Freepik

Here is a quick and easy YouTube tutorial on how to make your own face shield that will protect you from someone who has suspected Covid-19:

Social Media Trends as of September 4, 2022

Facebook #faceshield: 194,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #faceshield: 471,958 posts
TikTok #faceshield: 132.7 million views
YouTube #faceshield: 4,100 videos and 3,100 channels

Google Trends: faceshield isn’t a new search term but it reached its peak in popularity during the week of April 5, 2020 as people looked for ways to make one or find out where to buy one to increase their protection from Covid-19.

faceshield search term

Sources:

“Faceshield FAQ.” California Department of Health. November 2020. URL: https://www.emergencyslo.org/en/resourcesGeneral/faceshield_handout.pdf.

“Person using face shield mask.” Freepik. URL: https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/collection-people-using-face-shield-mask_8381151.htm#query=face%20shield&position=11&from_view=keyword.

CreativityWindow channel. “DIY PPE: Quick and Easy Face Shield.” YouTube. April 4, 2020. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9FSDSc76q4.

Categories
Pandemic Pandemic Art Virus

Coronaphobia

The anxiety caused by the pandemic is nothing short of extreme. Fear of catching the virus, fear of having the virus and fear of losing one’s job has created a state of anxiety some have called coronaphobia. The National Institutes of Health has a more detailed description of this heightened state of fear caused by Covid-19:

coronaphobia as an excessive triggered response of fear of contracting the virus causing COVID-19, leading to accompanied excessive concern over physiological symptoms, significant stress about personal and occupational loss, increased reassurance and safety seeking behaviors, and avoidance of public places and situations, causing marked impairment in daily life functioning. The triggers involve situations or people involving probability of virus contraction, such as, meeting people, leaving house, travelling, reading the updates or news, falling ill or going for work outside.

courtesy of the National Institutes of Health

An article published for The Conversation.com in March 2020 and entitled 7 ways to manage your #coronaphobia highlights just how pervasive coronaphobia has become. While Covid induced anxiety will be temporary for most people, some will have anxiety about leaving the safety of their home and going back to normal life. Individuals affected by this heightened level of anxiety “might avoid seeking medical care, isolate themselves from others unnecessarily, or be debilitated with fear.” The article reports on an Australian survey taken in 2020 that found 1 out of every 4 adults were “very or extremely worried about contracting COVID-19; about half were worried about their loved ones contracting it” (Newby and Werner-Seidler). Bear in mind that this article was written during the beginning of lockdown and the world has seen several waves of Covid variants so the anxiety level will have gone through the roof for many people.

The article offers seven tips on how to manage coronaphobia. Three are listed and the rest can be found by clicking here.

1. Reassure yourself, it’ll get better: for most people, the anxiety will get better as the threat of COVID-19 passes. If anxiety doesn’t go away, it can be treated

2. Change your ‘information diet’: spending time reading alarming tales of the horrors of COVID-19 will probably increase anxiety, not reduce it. Instead, try spending time focusing on positive information, stories or activities that take your mind off your fears.

3. Think logically about the risk: coronavirus has led to tragedy for many families, and we acknowledge the risk and consequences of contracting coronavirus differs from person to person. However, keep in mind over 90% of people infected with coronavirus in Australia have already recovered. The number of cases is also still extremely low, with 7,072 confirmed cases to date out of about 25 million people/

Newby, Jill and Werner-Seidler, Aliza

For a different perspective of this subject, check out the trailer for Coronaphobia, described as “a light hearted Comedic feature film written and produced to bring some much needed joy after what we all went through in 2020.” The movie was produced and directed by Ms. Michelle and premiered at the Las Vegas Black Film Festival on April 3, 2021.

Social Media Trends as of September 3, 2022

Facebook #coronaphobia: 1,200 people are posting about this
Instagram #coronaphobia: 1,181 posts
TikTok #coronaphobia: 926,000 views
YouTube #coronaphobia: 117 videos and 58 channels

Google Trends: coronaphobia first registered as a search term in January 2020. The pandemic was raging in China and news of the virus had spread worldwide. People everywhere were worried about the possibility of the Coronavirus spreading to their country. The popularity of the term reached its peak during the week of November 14, 2021 as the Omicron variant was in full swing and was much more contagious than previous Covid-19 variants.

coronaphobia search term

Sources:

Alisha Arora, Amrit Kumar Jha, Priya Alat, and Sitanshu Sekhar Das. “Understanding Coronaphobia.” National Institutes of Health. September 6, 2020. URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7474809/#:~:text=Based%20on%20a%20review%20of,increased%20reassurance%20and%20safety%20seeking.

Ms. Michelle. “CORONAPHOBIA Movie Official Trailer 2021.” YouTube. April 3, 2021. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8JMOFR655c.

Newby, Jill and Werner-Seidler, Aliza. “7 ways to manage your #coronaphobia.” The Conversation.com. May 20, 2020. URL: https://theconversation.com/7-ways-to-manage-your-coronaphobia-138120.

Categories
Pandemic

Coronial(s)

On April 2, 2020 USA Today featured an article entitled “Will coronavirus cause a baby boom, or is that just a myth? Prepare for jokes, if not babies!” (Puente). It’s logical to expect that the more time spent together with your significant other during periods of lockdown and quarantine the greater the chances are of an unplanned pregnancy especially if the couple cannot access contraception.

Nobody could say back then how long lockdown would last or the pandemic in general but people were starting to come up with ideas as to what to name the generation born during the pandemic. After some humorous talk about baby boom jokes, the article went onto say “The interest is such that people on Twitter are suggesting new names for this supposed coronavirus cohort: Coronials. Quaranteens. Baby Zoomers.” 

Merriam Webster’s Dictionary has “coronials” listed under their “Words we’re watching” section: “When a pandemic strikes, things drastically change and, in turn, new words are born to define and communicate the changes and their repercussions. In the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, we published a guide to coronavirus-related words, and we are considering adding another to the list: coronial. The word was coined as a name for a person conceived or born during the pandemic.“

The Coronials will include all those born in December of 2020, and, unless the pandemic ends quickly, the early months of 2021.
— Doctor Edmund Fitzgerald, quoted in The Berkeleyside, 1 Apr. 2020

Meanwhile a colleague acquaints me with reports that the generation of children conceived during the pandemic are likely to be called Coronials and then, later, the Quaranteens.
— Ian Warden, The Canberra (Australia) Times, 22 Aug. 2020

courtesy of DanielDonohue

Social Media Trends as of August 31, 2022

Facebook #coronials: 2,200 people are posting about this
Instagram #coronials: 5,685 posts
TikTok #coronials: 925,900 views

Google Trends: coronials registered sometime in February 2020 before lockdown but the popularity of the term reached its peak during the week of March 15, 2020 when lockdown had just started.

coronials search term

Sources:

“Coronials.” Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.com. URL: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/meaning-of-coronial-covid-kids.

Donohue, Daniel. “thinking woman.” ImgFlip.com. 2020. URL: https://imgflip.com/i/3si2ap.

KevinSmithNBA. “Are we all agreed that babies born 9 months after COVID-19 are going to be call coronials? And in 2033/2034 they’ll all become quaranteens?” Twitter. March 25, 2020. URL: https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/1242955200102629376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1242955200102629376%7Ctwgr%5E4561efd7e35815baa82419914c9fed668df069d0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Flife%2Fparenting%2F2020%2F04%2F02%2Fcoronavirus-fact-check-could-covid-19-cause-baby-boom%2F5105448002%2F.

Puente, Maria. “Will coronavirus cause a baby boom, or is that just a myth? Prepare for jokes, if not babies!” USA Today. April 2, 2020. URL: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/parenting/2020/04/02/coronavirus-fact-check-could-covid-19-cause-baby-boom/5105448002/.

Categories
Pandemic Pandemic Relationships

Zumping / Zumped

If your significant other dumped you over Zoom during the pandemic, then you’ve been zumped. This new term, a combination of Zoom and dumped, appeared around April 2020 just after lockdown started. Dating was mainly relegated to video conferencing apps.

Zumping appeared as a new word suggestion for the Collins Dictionary on 17 April 2020. It means to “dump a romantic partner via Zoom or another app” (plainname). The Urban Dictionary’s definition of zumped is to “abandon or desert (someone) via videoconference” (LyricalPoet).

An article written for the New York Post described zumping during the pandemic as “break[ing] up in multiple ways at once…’It didn’t help that the internet connection wasn’t great so we kept freezing, and I said, ‘We’re breaking up’ and we were! It was very surreal,” freelance writer and producer Julia Moser, 26, writes in BuzzFeed of being dumped over the videoconferencing app Zoom this month…For her and others, the app is now a place for conferences and catch-ups; happy hours and heartbreak.'” (Frishberg).

Good Morning America published an article just over two years ago about how the pandemic has changed the dating landscape. Whereas a normal Saturday pre-Covid could be spent in a bar meeting somone you swiped on an app, pandemic restrictions have limited dating to video conferencing apps. Almost half of all adults in the United States are quarantining alone which makes dating apps even more popular but breakups are still the same whether you’ve been ghosted or “zumped.” The article offers tips depending whether you’re the “zumper” or the “zumpee” (Ghanid).

For the ‘zumper’

1. Practice the Golden Rule: Have a script ready so you can deliver your message as gracefully as possible. Winging it often results in harsher words and tones than intended. Deliver a message that you would want someone to give you during a breakup, with compassion and messaging that would be best for you, and you’ll head in the right direction.

2. Leave them alone: Do not call or text to check up on the person. Studies show that both partners heal better with zero contact post-breakup.

3. Reflect: Why did this breakup happen? Was there a specific issue or were you just bored? If you’re bored, and this has been an issue before, you may have a dating pattern that should be addressed.

For the ‘zumpee’

1. Block them: As said above, zero contact is best to heal. As painful as it is, enlist the support of the people in your life who are positive and empathic.

2. Therapy: If the breakup is so painful that you’re having trouble functioning after a week, enlist the help of a virtual therapist to guide you through this time.

3. Be grateful: As sad as you feel right now, and as perfect as you thought the relationship was, it wasn’t. This breakup was a wake-up call about a fundamental incompatibility. Better to know now than to spend months or years in this state.

The We Love Hiphop Network posted a discussion on YouTube about being Zumped.

courtesy of The Blink Date

Social Media Trends as of August 27, 2022

Facebook #zumped: people are posting about this
Instagram #zumped: 16 posts

Google Trends: zumped appeared in late December 2019 and peaked but by the week of May 31, 2020 which suggests lockdown and quarantine restrictions made video conferencing apps the new way to tell your partner that you wanted out of the relationship.

zumped search term

Sources:

Frishberg, Hannah. “Latest trash dating term, ‘zumped,’ is what happens when heartbreak meets Zoom.” New York Post. April 14, 2020. URL: https://nypost.com/2020/04/14/now-theres-a-term-for-getting-dumped-over-zoom-zumped/.

Gandhi, Bela. “Dumped over Zoom: Why ‘zumping’ could be on the rise and how to handle it.” Good Morning America. April 24, 2020. URL: http://Dumped over Zoom: Why ‘zumping’ could be on the rise and how to handle it.

LyricalPoet. “Zumped.” Urban Dictionary. April 17, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Zumped.

plainname. “Zumping.” Collins Dictionary. 17 April 2020. URL: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/submission/22234/zumping.

We Love Hip Hop Network channel. “Zumped! Dumped On Zoom/ Are The Instagram Vs Battles Fair | We Love Hip Hop S5 E169.” YouTube. April 21, 2020. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhd0D0ANhVE.

Categories
Pandemic Virus

Intubated

I had never heard of the word “intubated” before the pandemic. This is a procedure where a tube is inserted into a person’s mouth or nose all the way down into their airway or trachea so that air can get through. The other end of the tube is connected to a machine that supplies oxygen. The oxygen may also be delivered through a mask instead of a tube (Cleveland Clinic). Some people who suffered very badly with Covid-19 were unable to breathe on their own so they had to be hooked up to a ventilator.

An article published on the Yale Medicine website explains that “if the body’s immune system does not fight off the infection, it can travel to the lungs and cause a potentially fatal condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In ARDS, the alveoli (tiny air sacs that allow oxygen to reach the blood stream and remove carbon dioxide) fill with fluid, which diminishes the lungs’ ability to provide vital organs with enough oxygen. ‘ARDS entails severe inflammation of the lungs, but the main problem is that it makes portions of the lungs unusable,’ Dr. Ferrante explains. ‘It can be very serious, and many of these patients will need to be on a ventilator’” (Macmillan). The length of time a patient can be on a ventilator can be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. For longer periods of time, a surgeon will perform a tracheostomy whereby a hole is made in the patients neck and the tube is inserted into the trachea with the other end connected to the ventilator.

New Jersey still publishes the list of those who tested positive for Covid-19 which includes the number of those on ventilators: “There were 1,038 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases reported at 69 of the state’s 71 hospitals as of Friday. Of those hospitalized, 105 are in intensive care and 37 are on ventilators” (Furst).

Social Media Trends as of August 24, 2022

*** Trigger warning – some images can be distressing to watch ***

Facebook #intubated: people are posting about this
TikTok #intubated: 13.9 million views

Google Trends: intubated is not a new term but the popularity of the search term peaked during the first week of April 2020 coinciding with the start of the pandemic.

Sources:

Furst, Camile. “N.J. reports 2,067 COVID cases, 8 death. 3 counties remain ‘high risk’ for transmission.” NJ.com. August 26, 2022. URL: https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2022/08/nj-reports-2067-covid-cases-8-deaths-only-3-counties-have-high-risk-for-transmission-cdc-says.html.

“Intubated.” Cleveland Clinic. URL: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22160-intubation#:~:text=Being%20intubated%20and%20being%20on%20a%20ventilator%20are%20related%2C%20but,a%20device%20that%20delivers%20air..

Macmillan, Carrie. “Ventilators and COVID-19: What You Need to Know.” Yale Medicine. June 2, 2020. URL: https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/ventilators-covid-19#:~:text=Some%20people%20may%20need%20to,tube%20into%20the%20trachea.


Categories
Pandemic Pandemic Art

Face nappy/diaper

Love them or hate them, facemasks have played an important role in the fight against Covid-19. Some have mockingly referred to masks as a face nappy, the British version of face diaper.

The Urban Dictionary entry for face nappy reads:

“A face mask. Nappy is uk word for diaper

Mick: hell yeah! What that on your face fam?
Wasteman: it’s a face nappy bud! I can’t use public transport without wearing one” (Doxan).

The entry for face diaper in the Urban Dictionary is defined as:

“A mocking term in reference to face masks.

I’m so sick of wearing these face diapers every time I walk into a store” (fencetape).

Not everyone agrees with the benefits of wearing a “face diaper.” The Montana Free Press reported on a protest event held on October 10, 2021 where people gathered to speak up for parental rights while opposing mask mandates. “During a rally on the steps of the Montana Capitol Friday, Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, said ‘Can there be anything more inalienable than the right to breathe freely?. When I have been forced to put on a mask, I immediately find that my respiration shortens, I become closed in…My whole psyche is demented by this mask, this face diaper. So we have to protect our children’s right to breathe freely’” (Sakariassen).

The term “face nappy” appeared in a fact checker article written for the Australian Associated Press website on January 10, 2022 which disputed the claims of Dr. Graham Lyon who said that “face nappy (mask) wearing…they’re making people unhealthy. They’re greatly increasing your risk of other, true respiratory diseases which do kill a lot of people per annum” (AAP Factcheck).

On February 20, 2021 the TODAY show twitter feed posted a news article that reported on a sign put up by Beckyjack’s Food Shack of Hernando County, Florida, that told customers “Face diapers are not required.” The photo quickly went viral.

On December 20, 2020 a modified version of Bobby McFerrin’s song Don’t Worry Be Happy was uploaded to YouTube with the song title Face Nappy.

Social Media Trends as of August 23, 2022

Facebook #facenappy: people are posting about this
Instagram #facenappy: 445 posts
TikTok #facenappy: 201,500 views

Google Trends: “face nappy” first appeared during the last week of January 5, 2020 as people started wearing masks in China where the pandemic started. The popularity of the term reached its peak during the week of May 30, 2021 just as the Delta variant was spreading like wildfire throughout the world.

face nappy search term

Sources:

AAP Factcheck. “Video airs false claims about face masks and respiratory diseases.” AAP.com. January 10, 2022. URL: https://www.aap.com.au/factcheck/claim-that-face-masks-increase-disease-risk-is-on-the-nose/.

Doxan. “Face nappy.” Urban Dictionary. July 15, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Face%20nappy.

fencetape. “Face diaper.” Urban Dictionary. August 5, 2021. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Face%20nappy.

Khup Metalbullet channel. “Covid song || Face Nappy.” YouTube. December 20, 2020. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEI4aFfiBIc.

Sakariassen, Alex. “Dozens rally for parental rights, and against mask mandates.” Montana Free Press. October 1, 2021. URL: https://montanafreepress.org/2021/10/01/montana-parental-rights-masking-rally/.

TODAY show. “Florida restaurant goes viral for ‘face diapers not required’ sign.” Twitter. February 20, 2021. URL: https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1363253625791909890.

Categories
Pandemic

Infodemic

Although “Infodemic” was coined in 2003 the word has never been more prominent than during the pandemic. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “a word that blends ‘information’ and ‘epidemic,’ and refers to the rapid spread of information – both accurate and inaccurate – in the age of the internet and social media.”

When Covid-19 started to spread rapidly, people wanted answers about what to do if they became sick with the virus. Their were plenty of websites and opinions on social media about different treatment options – some dubious – and others informative. Too much information can make it hard to determine what’s true and what isn’t. The World Health Organization remarks that an infodemic can “cause confusion and risk-taking behaviours that can harm health. It also leads to mistrust in health authorities and undermines the public health response.”  

Infodemic appeared as early as February 2020 when an article written for TechnologyReview.com described coronavirus as “the first true social-media infodemic…the greatest source of anxiety has been the tortuous process of watching the news unfold on social media” (Karen Hao Tanya Basu).

Social Media Trends as of August 13, 2022

Facebook #infodemic: 4,700 people are posting about this
Instagram #infodemic: 5,879 posts
TikTok #infodemic: 251,800 views
YouTube #infodemic: 260 videos and 153 channels

Google Trends: the term infodemic isn’t new but was first picked up during the week of February 2, 2020 and peaked in popularity during the week of March 15, 2020. News of the pandemic was distressing to many and people wanted answers. All kinds of theories were making the rounds on the internet leading some to describe this explosion of information as an infodemic.  

infodemic search term

Sources:

“Infodemic.” World Health Organization. URL: https://www.who.int/health-topics/infodemic#tab=tab_1.

“Infodemic.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary. URL: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-were-watching-infodemic-meaning.

Karen Haoarchive and Tanya Basuarchive. “The coronavirus is the first true social-media ‘infodemic’.” Technology Review. February 12, 2020. URL: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/12/844851/the-coronavirus-is-the-first-true-social-media-infodemic/.

Categories
Pandemic Pandemic Movie

Alone Together

“We’re so conditioned to achieve things and to find the perfect mate and then the world shuts down.”


Alone Together is a romantic comedy directed by Katie Holmes who also plays the leading character June. The movie is set in March 2020 around the time the pandemic began. June is a food critic and lives in New York City which is just starting to shut down due to Covid-19. Looking to escape city life for a while, June plans a romantic getaway to upstate New York to meet her boyfriend, John, at an Air BnB. After a series of mishaps involving her journey there, June ends up taking Lyft to her accommodation only to find out it’s been double booked and a man called Charlie is staying there. As pandemic restrictions start to kick in, the couple are forced to live with each other for a time and John is unable to make the journey there due to taking care of his parents. The unlikely couple share aspects of their life with each other and soon grow close.

The New York Times gave a thumbs up to the movie and said its “strongest appeal is in the resonance between what the characters experience and what the world looks like now. But Holmes also finds grace notes as a director. She stages painterly angles for upstate interiors and keeps the mood mellow, allowing her characters to converse without pushing for laughs or sentimental theatrics. Her film is a quiet achievement: a movie that isn’t running from reality” (Bugbee).

The movie had a limited theatrical release in the United States on July 22, 2022 and was available for streaming on July 29, 2022. It’s available to rent on Amazon Prime Video (IMDB). Click below to watch the Alone Together trailer.

courtesy of YouTube

Social Media Trends as of August 7, 2022

Facebook #alonetogether: people are posting about this.

Sources:

“Alone Together.” IMDB. URL: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14584284/.

Bugbee Teo. “‘Alone Together’ Review: Finding Love in a Pandemic Retreat.” New York Times. July 21, 2022. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/movies/alone-together-review.html.

Movie Coverage channel. “ALONE TOGETHER Trailer (2022) Katie Holmes.” YouTube. June 12, 2022. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f7WgWU1FBU.

“Alone Together” movie poster. YouTube. URL: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jG9l5c3bowE/movieposter_en.jpg.