In the News: Coronavirus
Nathan Schmidt
In my psychology class, we open each class with the teacher, Mr. Angstadt, asking, "does anyone have anything psychology-related to share with us?" It is pretty much an open time to talk about something interesting that has happened since the last class, big or small. Most of the time, we, the students, say nothing. So recently, he has asked the follow-up question, "are any of you worried about the coronavirus?" These questions have opened the past three classes or so, but the second question always gets more of a response. One student often makes a comment about how coronavirus is inevitably going to spread to Nazareth and take out each and every one of us. Really? I am not sure if this person actually believes this or if they are just trying to get a reaction out of everybody, but as to that belief, I find it highly unlikely.
I had a cold last weekend. There was nothing special about it; just a run-of-the-mill cold. While I had this cold, though, I went to a rehearsal for the musical. As I was coughing, sneezing, and blowing my nose through the rehearsal, a friend jokingly said to me, "you don't have coronavirus, do you?" I just chuckled, but the person standing next to us did not find if very funny. She walked up to me and asked, "have you been coughing?" "Well, I have a cold, so yeah," I responded. Her eyes widened, "have you been sneezing?" she asked. "Have you had a runny nose?" she asked. My answers remained the same. "Well, I have a cold, so yeah," I would reply. "Do you have a sore throat?" she asked. Once again, my answer did not change. "But is it really sore or just a little sore?" was the final question. I responded, "well it's not too bad right now." "Okay, good" she mumbled under her breath as she walked away.
I have since made a full recovery from this cold, but let's assume for a moment that I did have coronavirus. What would have been my chances of survival. I decided to look it up. As it turns out, I would have about a 98%-99% chance of survival. So why is everyone freaking out over this illness? I think the answer lies in the news coverage. News corporations have to keep you interested in their product, and the fact is that the real coronavirus is... well... kind of boring. Jumping back to my psychology class, we discussed a quote from the Psychology book that has since become a favorite of mine: "if it's in the news, don't worry about it." Much of the time, news corporations are concerned about what is good for business. They will toss in information that may not reflect reality completely accurately, but it will certainly get more viewers. Now, of course, there is a certain level of fear that should be associated with things like the coronavirus, mass shootings, or shark attacks, but it is fair to say that these concerns are often blown out of proportion.
If you're still not convinced, then perhaps these statistics will help. You have probably heard about the 3,000-some deaths caused by coronavirus but have you heard of the other 60,000 or so cases in which people fully recovered. Mass shootings are certainly scary, but so is choking on your lunch, and the latter is far more likely to be the cause of your death. How often, though, do you hear about that on the news? Shark attacks can also be frightening, but you are more likely to die by being crushed by a vending machine. Of course, that doesn't get people to watch the news in the same way shark attack footage does.
The topics that I mentioned in the blog post are certainly not ones to be taken lightly, but that does not mean we need to overreact to the extent that we have either. We should keep an eye on the coronavirus like we have been. We should prevent it from spreading and figure out how to treat it. Does this disease bring about the end of the world, though? Probably not. Hopefully this post has helped to clear up any thoughts or fears over coronavirus, but I would like to hear other thoughts below.
Are you nervous about what coronavirus might do to the United States?
Do you have any other statistics about the coronavirus that I may be missing?
What is your opinion on the "if it's in the news, don't worry about it" quote?
I definitely agree with the statement of "if it's in the news, don't worry about it," even though I tend to continue worrying regardless. It is true that things are put in the media and on the news due to how out-of-the-ordinary they are, like plane crashes on the negative end or medical miracles on the positive end. I know that this is true, but due to how widely the news of coronavirus is being spread, I can't help but be anxious. I think the fact that it's taking up half of the news (with the other half being the election) makes it hard to ignore, even if the threat seems minor and certainly with a vaccine underway. I feel like I'm on both sides of the issue, feeling like I should not be worried but not being able to help my concerns.
ReplyDeleteI have heard so much about the virus but I am not sure what of it is true or not. I agree that if it is in the news,you should not worry about it, but I can't help but to stress over the millions dying over this sickness and it spreading really fast. I think the media is definitely making the stress worse than it should be but still, it is a serious issue. Many people have different views on it and some people are careless yet others are buying 10 bottles of hand sanitizer. I feel like I am somewhere in the middle, where yes, it is a scary issue, but the chances of getting it here, are low.
ReplyDeleteThis talk about coronavirus has taken on some interesting characteristics. There was the out-of-the-gate stuff like "we're all gonna die" or "wash your hands before you're too dead to worry about hand hygiene." However, as the weeks draw on, there seems to be an equal number of people who default to just explaining it's a flu that the media blew out of proportion. I am certainly closer to this school of thought. But whatever side you're on, I feel as though the entire conversation has worn itself into the ground.
ReplyDelete"Oh have you heard about coronavirus?"
"Yeah man, scary"
"No it's not. The media is just going nuts."
Rinse, dry, repeat. Just like we did with the last world-ending diseases like Ebola or the swine flu. Oh wait, we're all still alive? Crazy.