Just like many of us, Ariane limits the amount of time she spends absorbing corona-related news nowadays. "I get my news in bite-sized chunks from Twitter. I read the news articles they recommend but I never watch the television news as I find that a lot more emotive and distressing than written news," she said. It's good for our emotional health to limit how much time we spend thinking about the coronavirus each day.
According to Ariane, there are some things waiting for us in the near future that could be cause for renewed hope and optimism. "The news that a vaccine is just around the corner is cause for optimism, but whether most people will be willing to take it or not is another matter. Hopefully, the pandemic will be over entirely by this time next year," she said.
Previously, Bored Panda spoke about staying optimistic and hopeful in these trying times with psychologist, priest, and published author Dr. Fraser Watts. According to him, optimism is a matter or prediction while hope is a matter of attitude.
"In the present situation, I don't think there are any good grounds for optimism, and to be optimistic would be a retreat into a fantasy world. However, even in present circumstances, it is possible and really helpful to maintain a positive, hopeful attitude,” he said.
Dr. Watts explained that staying hopeful about the future requires practice and cultivating a positive mindset. “It is useful to be clear that hope does not depend on believing that everything is going to be fine. It is more an act of will."
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Meanwhile, the question of whether or not anyone should be making jokes about the coronavirus is on some people’s minds. Earlier, Know Your Meme’s Senior Editor Matt Schimkowitz told Bored Panda we need to evaluate each joke on a case-by-case basis.
“There are plenty of great coronavirus memes and plenty of bad ones. I think when it comes to a situation like that, one that affects everyone on a global scale, it's kind of fair game. Of course, there's a line, I think, when you start mocking other people's experiences with the virus,” he explained.
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The meme expert added that some people will always be offended by some jokes and it’s impossible to fully reconcile them with the people who make jokes. “It's possible to make jokes about sensitive topics, but you have to listen to your audience in order to get there.”
Schimkowitz isn’t too fired up about the rest of the year. “Sorry to say, it's not looking good. We're currently in the middle of a global pandemic, so I think for many people it's probably going to continue being pretty painful. Oh, and there's a US election coming up, which are usually calm, orderly events with no problems, partisanship, or societal ruptures. Sorry to be a bummer!”
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