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September 23, 2020 - Image 7

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Wednesday, September 23, 2020 — 7
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan In Color

Twitter has always been my

social media drug of choice. My
timeline — essentially Arab twit-
ter, Muslim twitter and Leftist
twitter, speaks to my personal-
ity and beliefs to a concerningly
accurate degree. As my relation-
ship with Twitter has adapted
— what was once a 30 minute
daily check-in has seamlessly
transitioned into a pandemic
ritual of daily two hour blocks
— I’ve come to the realization
that Twitter, as well as other
forms of social media, has had
an engrossing, personal effect
on my life, especially within the
past six months. Remember that
one week where everyone post-
ed passive aggressive tweets
followed by a red heart? I used
the same mannerism in nearly
every text conversation that fol-
lowed, thinking it was comedic
gold. In April, when everyone
was absolutely fascinated by
bread, specifically of the banana
variety, I bought multiple bags
of flour and made banana bread
at least three times a week. The
intrusive effect social media has
had on my psyche and social
life has intensely heightened
throughout quarantine. Unfor-
tunately, the same can be said
for a concerning number of
young adults. Online, where
the need to create viral content
reflects an internalized need
to feel validated within public
circles, social media directly
translates to the urges we have
as social creatures because of
its unique ability to gather peo-
ple. The sense of gratification
when a post gets more likes than
expected, the second guessing
we feel before we hit post and
the tweet in our drafts that will
never hit our followers timeline,
all indicate an emotional depen-
dency that technological giants
have spawned for their users.
And during the pandemic, that
addiction has never been stron-
ger.

As how I choose to spend my

day and how I communicate
increasingly stem from social
media
interactions
powered

by consuming algorithms, the
compelling allure has held me
and others captive. Amassing
a sizable following and receiv-
ing likes are parts of a system
designed to psychologically per-
suade users to utilize these apps,
each usage followed by immedi-
ate dopamine hits. This potent
neurotransmitter is responsible
for making us feel pleasure, and
in moments filled with height-
ened sadness, consumers are
desperate to fend off secluded
sentiments of sadness. This
has been particularly severe
among young adults, as Gen-Z’s
dependence on social media was
excessive prior to the pandem-
ic, and screen times have only
elevated during the numerous
phases of lockdown. Further,
the CDC has conducted studies
that have shown that Gen-Z is
facing the brunt of mental ill-
nesses during the pandemic,
with one in four young adults,
aged 18-25, experiencing height-
ened anxiety, depression,and
suicidal thoughts. The social
fabric of society is unraveling.
While that percentage can be
broken down and expanded
across a multitude of issues
such as financial stress, anxi-
ety surrounding health and
academic pressure, the lack of
human connection is just one
more centrally detrimental fac-
tor for the mental psyche of
young adults across the world.
In this emptiness, social media
networks have rooted them-
selves as essential connecting
points amid daily pursuits for
companionship while quaran-
tining. Before the pandemic, it

was clear that Gen-Z, the first
generation born in the internet
era, was already facing higher
numbers of suicidal thoughts,
feelings of isolation and anxiety
than generations prior. And the
pandemic has only exacerbated
already augmented statistics.

Social media’s ability to offer

quickly digestible media head-
lines and regulations as the
world shifted through stages
of lockdown, left users on the
application long enough to con-
sume other forms of informa-
tion. Conspiracy theories are
one example. The United States
has been politically — and mor-
ally — polarized for some time,
but social media platforms;
namely Reddit, Facebook and
Twitter have stretched out an
exceedingly thin line in the
COVID-19 era. False conspir-
acy theories such as QAnon; a
theory asserting that Donald
J. Trump is the only one who
can “save the children” from
alleged sex traffickers Barack
Obama and Hilary Clinton,
have grown exponentially. As
people struggle to grasp onto
any idea that seems rational in
irrational times, Twitter has
immensely
furthered
these

divides, pushing leftists further
left, and far-right users further
into the fringe. According to
Pew Research, users on Twitter,
second only to Reddit, are more
likely to be exposed to conspir-
acy theories. This has serious
implications as it continues to
bleed into political discourse,
and the danger of entrapping
users in a bubble remains a soci-
etal threat.

The role social media has had

in fostering communities based
on common interests and beliefs
has also been socially beneficial.
Social media applications allow
people to form niches, causing
users to view strangers as close
friends, despite never having
truly interacted with the indi-
viduals off the internet. With
apps like TikTok dominating
the airwaves, other platforms
remain social media power-
houses, wielding influence in
fostering connections based on
personal affiliations; whether
it be a horoscope sign, brand
or fandom alignment. While
social media can rightfully be
analyzed as a dangerous way
of promoting groupthink, the
possibility to cultivate a com-
munity with people who share
your quirks and interests are
endless. Especially in a socially-
starved society, it manifests as
a way to feed our aching crav-
ings. If a user can focus their
time and energy on stan culture,
analyzing movies or engaging
in debates online, there is less
time to stress on truly immedi-
ate issues. This is a severe form
of escapism, but in a period
filled with so many unknowns,
confusion and tension, social
creatures are looking to escape
what’s off our screens.

Despite all the apparent dan-

ger, I can’t help but wonder how
the platform will become more
enmeshed in my life and the
lives of others as the weather
chills and any small window we
have to be social outside pushes
us back into our homes and onto
digital spaces. This dangerously
enticing human connection we
have to mere applications is the
basis of commentaries like Black
Mirror, but in a world where our
social selves are left wanting,
users, including myself, will
continue to sacrifice our time,
energy and personal data for
a swell of gratification. Time
has proven that our ravenous
reliance on social media harms
our collective consciousness,
but right now, when the hunger
for interaction overwhelms our
fears of a technologically-con-
sumed society, consequences be
damned.

YOUR WEEKLY

ARIES

This week, the Sun moves into
Libra at the equinox – a point of
balance, when light equals dark.
Mercury is also on the move,
arriving in Scorpio. Mercury in

Scorpio can have a dark
edge, but this energy is
excellent for research
and strategic thinking.

AQUARIUS

GEMENI

Feel the joy of the Sun, now
illuminating the most fun-loving
and creative part of your chart.
This is a fantastic week for artistic
expression or simply for enjoying

yourself. If you can take
a vacation, do it!
Definitely a week to
remember.

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

SCORPIO

CANCER

Give full reign to your naturally
nurturing instincts, perhaps by
taking someone lonely under your
wing. You have a lot of compas-
sion to teach the world, but your

confidence may be
lacking. Perhaps you
could express it
creatively?

TAURUS

Focus on your physical and mental
wellbeing this week. You can’t
serve others if you’re not well
enough to look after yourself.
Negotiating with a partner gets

easier once Mercury
changes sign, but you
may still struggle to ask
for what you need.

VIRGO

PICES

LIBRA
LEO

This very busy week finds you
packing in far more than 24 hours
a day allow – so don’t be
surprised if you end up exhausted!
There’s a strong sense of

satisfaction here though,
and the progress you
make will be very
pleasing indeed.

Read your weekly horoscopes from astrology.tv

The Sun leaves your sign this
week, and now is a good time to
focus on your finances. Even
though you’re not materialistic,
you appreciate the value of money

because it provides for

safety and security – so
use that as your
primary motivation.

With the Sun arriving in Libra,
you’re showcasing all the very best
of your sign. This is set to be a
happy, sociable week, and if you’re
single, it’s a good time for dating.

Planning works well too,

with your thought
processes becoming
more methodical.

Your natural instinct is to seek
solitude as the Sun shifts into your
privacy zone. However, with
Mercury arriving in your sign,
you’re actually feeling more

sociable and chattier than

normal. Engage with the

world – new friends are
waiting.

You feel driven to accomplish
things for others this week,
especially in a humanitarian or
charitable sense. Don’t allow guilt
over what you have or have not

done in the past hold you

back. You know better

now, and you’re
doing better.

The Sun shines brightly from your
career zone now, allowing you to
step into your full power and
authority. Mercury brings you
extra persuasive powers too, so

it’s likely that whatever

you say this week will

be listened to and
respected.

Your restlessness increases as the
Sun shifts signs, and there’s an
underlying need for adventure. If
you can ring the changes in your
daily routine, you’ll benefit from

this. Do something

different. Stretch your
mind.

The Sun stirs up deep emotional
depths within you, but releasing
these emotions is healthy. Look
ahead several years and decide
where you want to go. Don’t
worry too much about the details

at this stage – it’s your
overall vision that’s
important.

WHISPER

“I see that you’re watching the
best show in the world.
I approve.”

“Pumpkin pants.”

“And they were roommates!”

Social Media:
The sweetest poison

EMAN NAGA
MiC Columnist

no love - Prateek Katyal via Unsplash

Throughout American history,

the nation’s culture and main-
stream ideologies have under-
gone significant changes, but
one sentiment that has stood the
test of time is the concept of the
American Dream. This dream
states that we can achieve any-
thing we want if we work hard
enough. Through this concept,
society
has
been
convinced

that, as individuals, our fate is
completely dictated by our own
choices. And as a result, we have
learned to see the actions and
outcomes of our lives as entirely
separate from that of other peo-
ple’s, completely disregarding
the societal and communal fac-
tors that can affect one’s liveli-
hood.

Fast forward to the present

day, where we are now being
told about how one individual’s
cough or breath could start a
chain reaction of coronavirus
infections that could eventually
take someone’s life. Living in the
midst of a pandemic has proven
how our lives are interconnected
with everyone we come into con-
tact with, strangers and loved
ones alike. In response, many
public health officials and politi-
cians have been encouraging and
requiring the country to follow
guidelines such as wearing masks
that pass the flame test and social
distancing. Though these guide-
lines promote the well-being
of those who follow them, they
have been primarily regarded
as actions that are necessary for
the safety of those we cross paths
with. The expectation that peo-
ple will see the health of others
as their responsibility, and con-
tinuously sacrifice for the sake of
those they don’t know completely
opposes America’s individualis-
tic value system. With this being
the case, it is only fair to ask: is
this country willing to abandon
its cultural roots in order to pro-
mote the livelihood of its people?

The observable answer is no.

This has shown to be the case

in recent weeks, where the start
of the fall school semester at
the University of Michigan has
brought on an influx of large
gatherings, creating potential
breeding grounds for COVID
cases. This result is unsurprising
considering what we know about
the nature of the disease.

“COVID is a very social dis-

ease,” said Gary Harper, a health
behavior and health education
professor within the University
of Michigan’s School of Public
Health. “It spreads through the
air. So if you have students who
are drinking, laughing, and sing-
ing, plus they’re drunk so their
inhibitions are down, that’s a
virus’ playground.”

With the virus’ ability to

thrive in tightly-packed spaces,
many have been questioning the
logic behind people willingly
and unnecessarily creating situ-
ations that allow this fatal virus
to spread. The answer could lie
within our culture.

According to the unwritten

rules of an individualistic cul-
ture, people are only going to con-
tinuously follow guidelines that
show visible benefits to them-
selves and their livelihood. Social
psychologists have attested that
people
within
individualistic

cultures are more prone to mak-
ing decisions based on individual
needs, and only feel responsible
for taking care of themselves and
their families. This norm makes
the discrepancy between the
identities of people participating
in these large maskless events
and the communities being over-
whelmingly impacted by COVID-
19
extremely
relevant.
The

demographics of the gatherings
in question are mainly young,
middle to upper-class white uni-
versity students. This population
of people is known to be the least
impacted by the dangers of the
virus .

Some believe that this causes

this population to be disconnect-
ed from the reality of the disease.
“These aren’t the people being
disproportionately
impacted

by the disease,” says Dr. Harp-
er about this disconnect. The

racial disparities when it comes
to the impact of COVID have
been acknowledged at both the
local level and the national level.
“When the virus hit Michigan,
specifically in Detroit, 60% of the
people who tested positive were
Black,” continues Harper. In the
United States overall, Latino
and African-American residents
are three times more likely to
become infected, compared to
their white neighbors.

And yet race is not the only

thing that separates these par-
tiers from the reality of COVID.
There is also their age to con-
sider.

“Even when it comes to age,

the majority of the people who
are dying from it are older. With
all of these partiers being young,
if they catch the virus, they are
very likely to recover from it,”
Harper said.

This acts as a further separa-

tion that Dr. Harper summarizes
with a very telling statement:
“COVID isn’t real to them.” Yet
it is very real to many others,
including people of color, older
citizens, and lower-income resi-
dents, especially those serving
in essential worker positions
that do not provide paid time off
nor proper personal protective
equipment.

With the people leading these

parties on campus being socially
and
geographically
separated

from the hotspots of the virus,
as well as the communities most
affected by it, there is likely to be
an attitude of either indifference
or ignorance among the attend-
ees. Many might not believe
that their actions have tangible
repercussions, or they may be too
disconnected from the impact
to care. With the societally-pro-
moted desire to care only about
oneself, this leaves many of these
students without a visible reason
to care.

Since this is a problem that lies

within the value system of this
country, many of the proposed
solutions are located there too.
“We must change how we define
‘community’ in this country,”
says Dr. Harper. Harper, who

has done HIV community work
and research since 1985, and has
worked extensively in Kenya for
the past 15 years, looks to the
collectivism mindset of the East
African country when proposing
a solution.

“In Kenya, there is a very

collectivist
mindset,”
Harper

said.“They had curfews almost
immediately. Now they’re kick-
ing COVID’s butt instead of
COVID-19 kicking their butts.
There, the mindset is that if one
person has COVID-19 the whole
community has COVID. The say-
ing ‘it takes a village’ isn’t just a
cute saying there. It’s how they
live.” The mindset that one per-
son getting COVID is equivalent
to the entire community getting
COVID is not as far-fetched as
it may appear. The easy mobil-
ity of infectious disease makes
the potential of an individual
case turning into a community
concern quite possible. Because
of this, the community-based
mindset that has been ingrained
into Kenyan society is what has
resulted in relatively lower pro-
portions of deaths compared to
the U.S. Given these outcomes, it
is very possible that normalizing
the idea of being a team player -
as elementary as it sounds - could
be a saving grace to American.

This may not be easy to do.

The United States is the same
country that has allowed its
individualistic values to pre-
vent it from providing their citi-
zens with universal healthcare.
The pervading mindset that one
should not be responsible for
financially supporting the live-
lihood of a stranger is the rea-
son why millions in this country
have neglected health needs due
to economic strain. It is also
the reason why tax-supported
healthcare programs like Medic-
aid remain under constant scru-
tiny. The ability of this country to
redefine its values to encourage a
lifestyle that considers and cares
for the national community con-
tinues to be an uphill battle. The
question of whether the ravaging
impacts of COVID will change
that is yet to be determined.

Does American culture make succumbing to COVID-19 inevitable?

KAYLA THOMAS

MiC Columnist

Photo from UNSPLASH

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