Before shutdowns swept the globe
and many were urged — or mandated — to stay indoors to stymie coronavirus’s
spread, Divya Sonti sensed the worst was yet to come.
A specialist in public health
communications, the 31-year-old encouraged her millennial peers to steer clear
of bars and parties — but says “friends would think I was
overreacting.”
Her age group is considered
low-risk if they contract coronavirus — but today authorities warn younger
generations are likely carriers of asymptomatic cases, and could easily infect
older or immunocompromised people.
Deborah Birx, the White House
taskforce coronavirus administrator, said “the millennial generation”
could include many more virus carriers than previously thought.
She also said COVID-19 — which has
infected at least 210,000 people, leaving more than 8,800 people dead worldwide
— could hit younger people harder than believed, noting reports from France
and Italy of serious cases even among 20 and 30-somethings.
“We need them to be
healthy,” Birx said. “I’m not only calling on you to heed what’s in
the guidance, but to really ensure that each and every one of you are
protecting each other.”
– ‘Invincible’ –
Donald Trump also has pointed to
young people, saying “we don’t want them gathering. And I see they do
gather, including on beaches and including in restaurants.”
“Young people — they don’t
realize, they’re feeling invincible,” said the 73-year-old president of
the United States, which so far has reported more than 9,300 cases with 150
deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University count.
“Millennial” is often
used as a blanket term for all young people, though the Pew Research Center
defines it as those born between 1981 and 1996.
Those approximately 24 and
younger are considered members of Generation Z — the group most likely to be
flying south for spring break beach trips.
The Miami Beach mayor, Dan
Gelber, warned of “devastating consequences” over the virus and
ordered bars and gyms to close this week, telling springbreakers: “You’ve
got to think about the person next to you and even the person you don’t
know.”
Shelly Hill, a 21-year-old
university student, told AFP she cut short her Miami trip as airlines axe
flights.
“I’m not really scared of
corona, but I feel like it’s causing a lot of problems… a lot of stuff is
getting shut down,” the Atlanta resident said.
But “people need to be safe
and quarantine, because it is spreading really fast.”
– ‘Stupid and privileged’ –
A streak of individualism runs
through contemporary society, standing out most prominently among youth,
according to Jean Twenge, a psychology professor and author of “Generation
Me.”
Individualism has led to more
equality and less prejudice, she said — along with a flippant attitude towards
rules and less trust in institutions, including science.
“All of us have to realize
that we’re going to have to shift our thinking,” she told AFP.
“It just might be
particularly challenging for a generation that has not ever experienced a
culture that needs to be more collectivistic for some really good
reasons.”
Celebrities, like 18-year-old
Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande, 26, have urged people to heed COVID-19
warnings.
“The ‘We will be fine
because we’re young’ mindset is putting people who aren’t young and/or healthy
in a lot of danger,” Grande posted recently. “You sound stupid and
privileged and you need to care more about others.”
“Like now.”
– ‘Fever dream’ –
Nate Christensen has been laying
low at home in New York — which closed schools and banned gatherings — for a
week with his partner.
The nursing student, 30, compared
attitudes towards coronavirus to those of climate change: “I think people
have a hard time taking something seriously that’s not right in their
backyard.”
As America’s most populated city
began closing up shop over the weekend, Christensen said he “saw a lot of
millennials on social media self-isolating — but many also still going to the
gym, going on dates.”
“Ultimately I don’t blame
people for wanting to continue living a normal life,” he said, criticizing
the city’s mayor and New York’s state governor “for not acting sooner to
shutter public life.”
He said his generation’s strength
has been savvy use of social media to spread coronavirus risk awareness —
though he said some people on his feeds, especially Trump supporters, are still
touting an “invincible approach.”
“Anyone that has seen what
is happening in Italy but still thinks this country will deal with the virus
like any flu season is certainly living in an ‘American exceptionalism’ fever
dream,” Christensen said.
“The virus is about to show
just how not great this country truly is.”
19, March 2020
Youth warned against ‘fever dream’ of coronavirus invicibility 0
Before shutdowns swept the globe and many were urged — or mandated — to stay indoors to stymie coronavirus’s spread, Divya Sonti sensed the worst was yet to come.
A specialist in public health communications, the 31-year-old encouraged her millennial peers to steer clear of bars and parties — but says “friends would think I was overreacting.”
Her age group is considered low-risk if they contract coronavirus — but today authorities warn younger generations are likely carriers of asymptomatic cases, and could easily infect older or immunocompromised people.
Deborah Birx, the White House taskforce coronavirus administrator, said “the millennial generation” could include many more virus carriers than previously thought.
She also said COVID-19 — which has infected at least 210,000 people, leaving more than 8,800 people dead worldwide — could hit younger people harder than believed, noting reports from France and Italy of serious cases even among 20 and 30-somethings.
“We need them to be healthy,” Birx said. “I’m not only calling on you to heed what’s in the guidance, but to really ensure that each and every one of you are protecting each other.”
– ‘Invincible’ –
Donald Trump also has pointed to young people, saying “we don’t want them gathering. And I see they do gather, including on beaches and including in restaurants.”
“Young people — they don’t realize, they’re feeling invincible,” said the 73-year-old president of the United States, which so far has reported more than 9,300 cases with 150 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University count.
“Millennial” is often used as a blanket term for all young people, though the Pew Research Center defines it as those born between 1981 and 1996.
Those approximately 24 and younger are considered members of Generation Z — the group most likely to be flying south for spring break beach trips.
The Miami Beach mayor, Dan Gelber, warned of “devastating consequences” over the virus and ordered bars and gyms to close this week, telling springbreakers: “You’ve got to think about the person next to you and even the person you don’t know.”
Shelly Hill, a 21-year-old university student, told AFP she cut short her Miami trip as airlines axe flights.
“I’m not really scared of corona, but I feel like it’s causing a lot of problems… a lot of stuff is getting shut down,” the Atlanta resident said.
But “people need to be safe and quarantine, because it is spreading really fast.”
– ‘Stupid and privileged’ –
A streak of individualism runs through contemporary society, standing out most prominently among youth, according to Jean Twenge, a psychology professor and author of “Generation Me.”
Individualism has led to more equality and less prejudice, she said — along with a flippant attitude towards rules and less trust in institutions, including science.
“All of us have to realize that we’re going to have to shift our thinking,” she told AFP.
“It just might be particularly challenging for a generation that has not ever experienced a culture that needs to be more collectivistic for some really good reasons.”
Celebrities, like 18-year-old Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande, 26, have urged people to heed COVID-19 warnings.
“The ‘We will be fine because we’re young’ mindset is putting people who aren’t young and/or healthy in a lot of danger,” Grande posted recently. “You sound stupid and privileged and you need to care more about others.”
“Like now.”
– ‘Fever dream’ –
Nate Christensen has been laying low at home in New York — which closed schools and banned gatherings — for a week with his partner.
The nursing student, 30, compared attitudes towards coronavirus to those of climate change: “I think people have a hard time taking something seriously that’s not right in their backyard.”
As America’s most populated city began closing up shop over the weekend, Christensen said he “saw a lot of millennials on social media self-isolating — but many also still going to the gym, going on dates.”
“Ultimately I don’t blame people for wanting to continue living a normal life,” he said, criticizing the city’s mayor and New York’s state governor “for not acting sooner to shutter public life.”
He said his generation’s strength has been savvy use of social media to spread coronavirus risk awareness — though he said some people on his feeds, especially Trump supporters, are still touting an “invincible approach.”
“Anyone that has seen what is happening in Italy but still thinks this country will deal with the virus like any flu season is certainly living in an ‘American exceptionalism’ fever dream,” Christensen said.
“The virus is about to show just how not great this country truly is.”
Source: AFP