Dear Julia, Me and all my friends at school were sent home because of coronavirus It’s all anyone is talking about right now: in my house, with my friends, and on social media, and it’s kind of driving me insane. How do I survive the next however-long stuck at home, taking classes online, and keeping myself safe? LookingforPurellontheBlackMarket22
Hello LookingforPurellontheBlackMarket22,
Yes, this absolutely sucks. I haven’t been able to open my phone or have a conversation without coronavirus coming up (I’ve decided to include cartoon viruses for each mention of COVID-19 in this post to dispel some fear/anxiety, so don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of links: they’re cute).
On March 11, there were 20 million coronavirus related mentions on social media according to Sprinklr, a social media analytics platform. That’s like if every single resident of New York took out their phones and posted about coronavirus on the same day. The CDC recommends taking breaks from social media, because “hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.” And there is a lot of evidence to back this up, relating to the concept of emotional contagion, which is the transfer of feelings between people that, fueled by a pandemic like the one caused by COVID-9, can create widespread panic. Professor Sigal Barsade at the University of Pennsylvania advises against social media usage at this time, and warns that “emotional contagion, unless we get a hold on it, is going to greatly amplify the damage caused by COVID-19.”
Even as I shut off my phone my mom yells at me to “social distance” myself from my sister, but as we live in the same house and were watching the same TV show, that consisted of me moving a few inches away from her on the couch. I don’t think that avoiding social media is enough to lower our anxiety related to the virus; it’s all anyone is talking about. Also, in stressful situations a lot of us turn to social media and our phones for comfort (which definitely isn’t helping at all, but we all still do it).
I’ve been home for over a week, and only now am I choosing to face the reality of the situation: coronavirus is not going away anytime soon, so it’s time to start figuring out ways to make the best out of being a self-quaranteen.
To lower the effects of emotional contagion, we can practice controlling our own anxiety in order to not worsen anyone else’s and to make the best out of this situation. Dr. Brewer, a psychiatrist and writer for The New Yorker, writes that the way to decrease anxiety (in general and associated with coronavirus) is “to become aware of two things: that we are getting anxious or panicking and what the result is.” Acknowledging your fears, worries, and annoyances and understanding that maybe some of them are irrational or can be controlled, will gradually decrease the frequency of these kinds of thoughts, making you feel better and freeing up your mental energy for other things unrelated to COVID-19 (example: if you get into a fight with your sister because you found a lot of the clothes you were missing in college in her closet early on in self-quarantine, it’s going to be a rough coronacation). And especially since online school is the reality for most students, we’re going to need to put ourselves in the best possible position mental health-wise to be able to do well in our classes and not lash out at our family/friends because of the stress of it all.
In the spirit of trying to decrease stress associated with coronavirus, I came up with some suggestions of ways to live your best quaranteen life. What started out as a list somehow developed into an acrostic poem, which I tried desperately to fight at first, but then couldn’t see the information being conveyed any other way.
Care. Try to do something nice for someone each day – could be cleaning up everyone’s plate after dinner, texting your friends and checking up on them, or sharing your bottle of Purell.
Organization. Make yourself a schedule. It’ll help a lot with schoolwork and getting into a normal routine.
Respect. Don’t be dumb and go to public places where you could endanger other people.
Opportunity. Are there things you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t had time for? Well now there’s time! Learn a new instrument, do an art project, become fluent in French, learn how to do the worm (my goal for corona season).
Netflix. This goes along with any type of downtime or selfcare activity, because that’s still really important. There’s also Netflix Party now so you can watch with friends!
Awareness. Be aware of what’s happening in the world, but also be mindful of the emotions of your friends and family. Everyone’s going through this right now, and you’re not alone, so don’t be afraid to tell people if you’re struggling.
If you happen to come across an abundance of black market Purell, remember who gave you such great advice!
Always yours,
Julia
Advice from a Gen Z Who's Just Trying Her Best 
