“Just Don’t Look”

If we ignore the media's constant bombardments, will we be able to return to normal?

I tend to disagree with those who say that COVID is nothing more than the flu. I also disagree with the notion that things will fully return to normal if we forget about COVID. However, that doesn’t mean that we should be constantly inundated with information, to the point of information overload and decision making paralysis that have captured much of otherwise rationally-minded people.

One of the biggest issues we have faced with this pandemic was having a definitive point where we knew the pandemic was finally over. As it stands, there seems to be no lines drawn in the sand to indicate such a point. We’ve essentially been living in a “carrot on stick” scenario where every little inch towards normalcy is immediately ripped out from us due to a sudden shift in health policy or massive fear stoked by the media. Even now, I have come across several people who have told me how deadly Omicron is when we have no evidence of anyone dying yet. Combine that with all of the school closures and newly renewed vaccine mandates and we’re no better off than we were at the beginning of the pandemic.

It makes me think of a joke that has been posted on Twitter in regards to Africa and normalcy. I can’t quite remember the joke, but it goes along the lines of “when people in Africa were asked about why they weren’t scared of COVID the response was that they didn’t have television and social media”.

Okay, I butchered the joke, but the sentiment is there.

In regions outside of the Western world, where media influence and constant bombardment by the news is not happening, how are people responding to COVID? Is that they have ignored all of the illnesses and deaths, or is it that they have decided to continue with their lives regardless of circulating COVID.

It’s an idea I’m sure many of you have had, and I myself battle with this thought continuously.

Let me be clear and say that this doesn’t mean that COVID is no worse than the flu. But we’ve never had massive shutdowns, millions of people unable to work, grossly increasing rates of declining mental health including depression and suicide, increasing levels of overdose, and developmentally stunted children who may not be able to properly grow and connect with others.

This made me think of The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror VI special titled “Attack of the 50-foot Eyesores” in which Homer, angry that he did not receive the proper deluxe donut, decides to steal the giant donut from the donut shop’s mascot. This eventually triggers all of the town's mascots to come to life and destroy Springfield.

In an attempt to end the chaos, Lisa eventually learns that the mascots, being the representation of consumer products and driven by catchy jingles to garner our attention, may be defeated if people stop paying attention to them.

It’s a bit on the nose with its consumerist metaphors, but the message is there; if we begin to ignore the constant fear mongering and onslaughts of terror and death evoked by the media and public health officials, do we gain the ability to return to some form of normalcy?

This idea was renewed even further this week by an article posted within the British Medical Journal (BMJ) titled “the end of the pandemic will not be televised” which contained some of the same sentiments that I have battled with since the Pandemic began. It’s also what made me think of The Simpsons episode.

The article argues about the issues with ending the pandemic, with one of the main topics being a consequence of modernity. Unlike prior years, we have never had a 24/7 counter that continuously told us of all of the cases and deaths. Even more alarming is the constant reminder nearly every minute about COVID and this persistent reminder has even pervaded all forms of culture. Commercials are now filled with people wearing masks and even listening to the radio for Christmas songs bring constant reminders to get vaccinated and not to see family members if sick (of course, the latter point needs no explanation as to why it’s a valid position to take).

But the end of the article provides a succinct window into the idea of “just not looking”:

History suggests that the end of the pandemic will not simply follow the attainment of herd immunity or an official declaration, but rather it will occur gradually and unevenly as societies cease to be all consumed by the pandemic’s shocking metrics. Pandemic ending is more of a question of lived experience, and thus is more of a sociological phenomenon than a biological one. And thus dashboards—which do not measure mental health, educational impact, and the denial of close social bonds—are not the tool that will tell us when the pandemic will end. Indeed, considering how societies have come to use dashboards, they may be a tool that helps prevent a return to normal. Pandemics—at least respiratory viral pandemics—simply do not end in a manner amenable to being displayed on dashboards. Far from a dramatic “end,” pandemics gradually fade as society adjusts to living with the new disease agent and social life returns to normal.

As an extraordinary period in which social life was upturned, the covid-19 pandemic will be over when we turn off our screens and decide that other issues are once again worthy of our attention. Unlike its beginning, the end of the pandemic will not be televised.

It’s not about turning a blind eye to all the damage that COVID has brought, but to come to terms with properly weighing the benefits and risks that we have ignored for the good part of two years.

And that includes the idea of whether COVID will become eradicated. At some point we need to come to terms with living with the virus and learn to understand that, no matter what pandemic we are in, the world can’t stop turning for the sake of media pundits drawing our attention and giving them the views that they so desperately cling to.

We’re soon entering into another year, and there’s no doubt COVID will consume a large portion of the discourse.

So instead of constantly watching the news or engaging in shouting matches with those on Twitter, we may do well do just go outside and see the world as it is, was, and always has been.

The world waits for no one, and we can’t wait for COVID to end to begin living our lives, for as long as we have survived we cannot truly live until we understand the difference and choose the path for ourselves.