As she walks around Target, Kayla McManus-Viana, an undergraduate at the Georgia Institute of Technology, feels like something is crushing her chest. Her fingers fidget, she says, as she sees all of the customers without masks.
For centuries, what has made news valuable and news organizations profitable has been the speed at which journalists collect and disseminate information.
This is useful for both commerce and public service. But the rush for novelty can prioritize sensationalism over depth, and elevate the newest tidbit of information over more important reporting.
When novelty replaces context, the ironic result is a less-informed but more up-to-date public.
For seniors, the spring semester typically means prom, senioritis, and graduation, a highly celebrated rite of passage into adulthood. Sadly, due to the persisting danger of having so many people gathered together, the class of 2020 will be missing the chance to celebrate this momentous occasion with their friends and family.
College students across the country found themselves devastated and quite frankly, ignored. Like many people, their plans were cut short or cancelled altogether. There were no more classes, no formals, no more studying in the library and no graduation. While these all seem minuscule in the grand scheme of things, they were important to the individuals involved.
“I’m definitely happy about getting this check. I did not expect my job to close its doors, and we don’t know when it will be back to normal. I just look at it as $1200 more dollars than I had before, so I’m just patiently waiting,” said Jenelle Elle, a 24-year-old Atlanta IT Consultant.
Under normal circumstances, there are simple ways to cope with an eating disorder flare-up. Since COVID-19 has literally locked us all indoors, alone with our thoughts, phones and refrigerators, healthy coping mechanisms seem out of reach – but not impossible.
“They’re trying to kill us,” said Craig Bowie, an Atlanta school counselor.
This is the sentiment expressed by many Black people in regards to COVID-19.
Since the spread of coronavirus accelerated in recent weeks, local, state and federal officials throughout the United States have locked down information from the public.
Social distancing is both necessary and hard. Separating from others goes against basic human needs for companionship and connection that everyone feels, yet the challenge of social distancing may be especially difficult for teenagers, because it contradicts much of what being a teenager is all about.
COVID-19 has drastically altered the way we live. Although the virus is different from the 1918 flu, we’re still experiencing a shut down that the world has only experienced during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. Our lives have been, for the most part, disrupted.
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