Twitter Grows Cynical During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The world is going through a very torrid time, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) has so far reported more than 22 million cases and nearly 750,000 fatalities globally. Most people continue to use social media platforms to express their views on what is happening. Twitter, in particular, remains the people’s favourite platform.
Amid the pandemic, someone couldn’t miss the light side of twitter users who have been using the platform for all the right and wrong reasons. Funny hashtags, memes, and all sorts of jokes about how life has changed dominate the online space. It is never a boring place, and it makes total sense for people who want to view things positively.
Threads under various hashtags saw people make jokes out of dangerous situations. Quarantined fellows proposed to their spouses, and some went further to project on how the end of the year would see a new wave of births.
Light moments amid the pandemic
It is never a dull moment as twitter grows cynical over what the new generation terms “the darkest period” of their time. Very few people – or none – foresaw the prolonged pandemic as an opportunity to be creative. Under a popular hashtag #QuarantineandChill, some went as far as proving to their bosses how happy they were working from home. Coronavirus was a convenient excuse for many, and a solid proof that they can still get the job done right from where they are.
Things have started to take shape, with economies opening up, albeit slowly. The old #Coronapocalypse hashtag was a hit following growing uncertainties that saw lockdowns across various cities in the world. The naysayers had a field day, inflicting all sorts of fear to the innocent.
Memes of people taking drastic measures pending isolation dominated the online space, creating fear across the divide. Unapologetic twitter users came up with all theories, like how food supplies would eventually come to an end, leading to many deaths due to hunger.
Others went ahead to suggest how increased production of alcohol-based sanitizers would result in people dropping their favourite beer bottles for sanitizers.
Public events were suspended, including sports and entertainment. Some of the punchlines were unforgiving, especially those of vibrant artists turning into paupers following lengthy periods in the cold.

The turn
At one point, when it dawned on everyone that the pandemic was hard-hitting, twitter turned out to be the biggest source of handy information. Besides the regular updates from relevant authorities through respective social media handles, users adopted highlighting challenges facing several people during the difficult moments. The idea was to raise awareness and to possibly seek alternative redress to some of the issues affecting the majority of people in different parts of the world.
There are signs that the pandemic will be over, but a specific timeline remains far-fetched. Going by the different measures being adopted by authorities, people have become more creative, not only on twitter but in real life. The level of cynicism among twitter users keeps rising, and from new hashtags, everyone is coming up with a post-coronavirus plan. Some are hilariously creative, albeit with some degree of insensitivity. But in the end, it is never that serious.