Tag: covidiot

Categories
Pandemic

Covidian

Covidian is a new term and its broadest meaning is anything related to or typical of the Covid-19 pandemic. It can refer to someone who follows all the health directives and mandates. The term is listed in the Urban Dictionary and here are three definitions:

Definition #1: “A Covidian is someone who lived through the global Covid-19 pandemic, starting in January 2020

-She was a Covidian. She survived the Covidian era.
-They met in the Covidian crisis.
-He hoarded toilet paper in the Covidian era” (Cosgrove)

Definition #2: “A person who identifies with COVID-19, or is obsessed with COVID-19 ‘prevention’ measures.

-Look at this Covidian wearing his mask while driving his car alone.
-This Covidian attempted to argue that health is more important than freedom. Little did the Covidian know, health requires freedom” (_Correct_ Definitions_).

Definition #3: “a child born during the COVID pandemic

-I was born as a result of the pandemic shut down of March 2020, therefore I am a Covidian” (Monocle77).


GREETINGS COVIDIANS is the name of a visual research project at Florida International University which looks at and analyzes personal experiences during the pandemic. It is led by the Research Network for Health and Society (REACH) The project is featured in an online article written for FIU entitled: “Greetings, Covidians: Seeing COVID-19 through fresh eyes” (Lederman). To participate, visit https://www.greetingscovidians.net/ and submit an anonymous photo with a caption that explains how you’re experiencing the pandemic. The picture can be taken inside your home or in a pubic place. Your submission forms part of a digital gallery.

Here’s a YouTube video from Dr. Z’s called “Covidians vs Covidiots.” Dr. Z encourages people to find middle ground so they don’t become too casual or too cautious about coronavirus.


Social Media Trends as of May 4, 2022

Facebook #covidian: people are posting about this
Instagram #covidian: 672 posts
TikTok #covidian: 48,600 views
YouTube #covidian: less than 100 videos and channels

Google Trends: covidian appeared in December 2019 and achieved peak popularity April 2020.

covidian search term

Sources

“Covidian.” The Urban Dictionary. May 27, 2020 URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Covidian.

“COVIDian” – Word Sense Online Dictionary. 4th May 2022. URL: https://www.word
sense.eu/COVIDian/.

Dr. Z. “Covidiots Vs. Covidians? An Alt-Middle View.” Dr Z. YouTube. ZDoggMd. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZIJ0ekD_HE.

Lederman, David. “Greetings, Covidians: Seeing COVID-19 through fresh eyes.” Florida International University. July 15, 2020. URL: https://news.fiu.edu/2020/greetings,-covidians-seeing-covid-19-through-fresh-eyes.

Categories
Pandemic Virus

Masktard

Yes, “masktard” really is a word. It began to appear online in March 2020 during the outbreak of the pandemic when people were ordered to wear masks to stop the spread of Covid-19. I’ve overheard the word in conversation.

Depending on one’s point of view, the term can have different meanings. It doesn’t appear in Google Trends or as an official entry in the dictionary, however, it does appear as an entry in the Urban Dictionary: “A person who doesn’t question authority and mindlessly complies to mandates (not laws) given by left authoritarian government, to the detriment of personal autonomy, freedom, jobs, livelihoods. Their own mantra of “my body, my choice” goes out the window, because their fear and devotion to compliance overrides your rights as a free citizen to choose for yourself. They insist you must do as they do or you’re a selfish grandma-killer, which betrays their faith in the mask’s effectiveness in the first place.

I was just going about my business and this masktard got in my face and lectured me about not wearing a mask” (asenath7766).

Dictionary.com has “masktard” listed as a suggested word: “Depending on your point of view, a person who is militant about wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, or a person who is reluctant to wear one” (plainname).

An article published for Westward.com informs readers that mean girls are most likely to use Covid-19 insults: “Welcome to 2020, when mean girls, and mean people in general who think they’re indestructible, feel free to insult those who insist on following public-health officials’ advice regarding an infection that’s killed more than 170,000 Americans to date. And indeed, the novel coronavirus has produced an explosion of new vocabulary specifically designed for this purpose…[concerning] ‘Masktard,’ when I first came across this slur, I couldn’t imagine a teen girl actually using it. A nanosecond later, I totally could” (Roberts). It remains to be seen whether the author’s personal experience is widespread among teenagers.

Masktard was the subject of a comedy video created by the J-Man Or Riot! channel on October 24, 2021. The video is called “Covidiots: The Everyday Adventures Of Maskhole & Masktard-Ep.1 Shaving.”

Social Media Trends as of May 17, 2022

Facebook #masktard: people are posting about this
Instagram #masktard: 41 posts
TikTok #masktard: 1777 views
YouTube #masktard: less than 100 videos and channels


Sources:

asenath7766. “Masktard.” Urban Dictionary. September 22, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=masktard.

plainname. “Masktard.” Collins Dictionary. March 9, 2020. URL: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/submission/22773/masktard.

Roberts, Michael. “COVID-19 Insults Most Likely to Be Used by Mean Girls.” Westword. Denver Westword, LLC. August 19, 2020. URL: https://www.west
word.com/news/covid-19-insults-most-likely-to-be-used-by-teen-mean-girls-11772993.

The J-Man Or Riot! “Covidiots:The Everyday Adventures Of Maskhole & Masktard-Ep.1 Shaving.” YouTube. October 24, 2021. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mNL5hiktbI.