Quarantine Discussion

As the COVID-19 virus continues to spread rapidly, the media has been able to cover the news and spread awareness to others. Applications such as Instagram for example have its own stay home advertisements to persuade people to just stay home as a way to prevent this pandemic from spreading. Another example would be twitter where news of the corona virus is being published so the public is aware of the number of cases in their county or even the fact that the president furthered the quarantine process till at least April 30th. This all together helps provide the public with vital information on how to stay safe and why it is important to do so. Unfortunately the media can be a dangerous place to find information as it can be a completely false statement, this is a reason to look for credible sources and not just rely off of social media. Although social media has been helpful with providing information to the public about the virus, media has another aspect that has been beneficial towards people since restrictions of leaving ones houses began.

Media types such as Netflix, Disney plus, Hulu, Amazon Prime all provide ways to watch movies, shows, and more. In times of containment, boredom can begin to take over and people are now turning to their screens for entertainment. Other sources of entertainment people are turning to are video games, these kinds of media helps pass the time through the hardships of this pandemic. For example, my family watches at least two movies a day now and my brother plays video games for at least three hours a day, since there is nothing else to do.

In addition to the other benefits, one of the most important one is communication. Applications such as Skype to video chat friends or family, near or far away, making sure they are okay and to just get a chat in because quarantine can be very lonely is almost crucial for anybody. Relaxing after realizing your friends and family are okay and finally being able to have a conversation with someone other than your cat is good for anybody psychologically. Even if people do not use apps such as Skype to have a face call there are apps such as snapchat that send pictures that delete right after being opened. This is a quick and easy way to just say hi, and stay connected with others even without necessarily speaking. There is also the trend on instagram where friends will tag other friends to complete a challange and this is just a way to let your friends know you are thinking of them and to also keep in touch with your followers.

In conclusion, the media is what consumes most peoples time during quarantine. The media includes many aspects to help other pass the time such as providing news, movies, TV shows, video games, and also being a main source of communication, weather it is an hour long Skype call or a two second picture sent to a friend, this is the way humans are staying connected through quarantine.