Adaptation and Staying Social: Ways of Coping and the Use of Virtual Spaces During the Covid-19 Pandemic as Observed in the USA

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the entire world (Worldometer 2021). Some regions are worse off than others though. One of these areas is the United States of America which has been recorded having the highest number of Covid cases and deaths in the world, with 33,419,113 cases and 594,912 deaths from Covid-19 as of May 08, 2021 (Worldometer 2021). Despite its alarming numbers, citizens there remain divided regarding every aspect of the pandemic. This is evident on social media sites such as Facebook, where people have been posting conspiracy theories, YouTube videos of doctors claiming there is no pandemic, images of themselves at parties and out dining in restaurants, defying mask ordinances and other government implemented restrictions in public protest and jeopardizing their safety as well as others. Simultaneously other citizens are posting on social media and sharing their stories of having personally having had or someone they know having had Covid-19, pictures of people intubated in intensive care units, videos of scientists like Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Ott 2021), and others from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) imploring people to follow safety guidelines and to take the pandemic seriously, and even announcements of deaths from Covid-19. Additionally, people have used the internet and social media to remain social with friends and family during lockdowns, and use Zoom to work from home or attend school. Some people have created new businesses during the pandemic and use the internet to advertise, connect, or make sales. This paper addresses how people in the USA used the internet and social media to remain social during lockdowns and adapted to the pandemic, from early March 2020 until late August 2020. With the use of participant observation and anthropological theories, I will present what I observed online from Norway, that was taking place in my home of the USA during this period.