33 - Communicating a Virus
Flatten the curve. Wash your hands. Don't touch your face. Stay home.
It's a really weird time right now, a very strange time. Obviously the virus has upended our lives, and first things first, I hope you are doing well. People are self-isolating, suspected case and death numbers due to COVID-19 are increasing every day, and there's a lot of uncertainty and anxiety about the world. I don't know how you deal with this yourself, but if you need someone to talk to, or to chat to - please reach out.
You've probably heard enough about what you need to do during the crisis, and I'm definitely not the right person to give you appropriate medical advice (I'm not a doctor, in case that's not clear).
However, throughout the last few months, I've felt a bit off about what I can actually do about the coronavirus. It feels kind of helpless, because I mean...what can I actually do?
Flatten the curve
Things like #flattenthecurve are great, they give a good shorthand for why we need to take all these different actions. But...what does it mean for me and you? I need to do all these actions...or not do certain things... so that the curve flattens. How do I know my effort is actually working?
Like, I'm doing a lot of the things that I should. And the numbers are still going up. What am I supposed to do? How do I know my efforts are worth it?
I thought that this probably was why people were hoarding toilet paper and food - without any guidance as to what we should do, and in the face of uncertainty and the unknown, we do what we can to keep our illusion of control.
And sure, sometimes doing nothing is the best decision, and probably the best thing to do right now. But the way it's framed is really important as well - is it telling people to STOP doing things, or transfer their efforts and focus to something else?
There's a difference between telling people to stop going out, and instead telling them to focus on learning how to home cook, or pick up a project at home they've been neglecting. Read that book you always wanted to - clean out your damn Netflix queue!
A better focus would be on what you're gaining, rather than what you're losing.
Wash your hands
Think about the following:
I'm sure you've seen this diagram before - and probably all the excellent memes that have come from it. You probably also heard about the fact that you have to clean for as long as you can sing Happy Birthday twice.
And I know this might just be a personal thing, but when I saw that, I didn't really change my patterns. I might have washed for a bit more time, but I kinda didn't change my technique...
It's pretty hard to visualise with just those diagrams, and it's not contextual - I can't really visualise what I'm doing, why I need to do each of those steps (like...rotating around the thumbs? what?! I've literally never done that before...[maybe I've never had clean hands in my LIFE]) and whether I'm actually clean. And when I actually need to remember all of it...well, it's hard to see feedback on your hands when you're washing with water and soap!
And then you see this:
Correct technique to wash your hands for proper disinfection. #CoronavirusOutbreakindia #CoronaVirusUpdate #COVID #CoronaVirusUpdate pic.twitter.com/1WeDwlCaF6
— Harjinder Singh Kukreja (@SinghLions) March 19, 2020
...and you just get it. It's so specific and so visual - it gives you the reason why you have to use each of those techniques to wash your hands, and you can instantly see the feedback on your hands! What a great demonstration - you love to see it.
Stay home
In a community, social norms are incredibly important, especially in times of uncertainty. Think about it - the first time you walk into a museum or a store that you're unfamiliar with, you'll watch other people and see what they're doing. The first time you eat a new kind of food, or are put in an unfamiliar situation, you're always looking around to see what your parents or your friends are doing - we're social creatures, it's how we learn!
But when literally no-one knows what you're supposed to do, you look to authority figures. And if your leaders are not taking things seriously, or trying to calm people down so they can keep the economy going, well, a lot of people will follow suit.
That's why stuff like this is important:
Mayors of USA: “Go to the gym. Go get somethin’ to eat. We will get through this.”
— David Adler (@davidrkadler) March 22, 2020
Mayors of Italy: “Excuse me but where the FUCK are you going!?” pic.twitter.com/ncPvrkDPsc
Not only is it hilarious (novelty is important for recall), but it's also showing how important this is to the country! Leaders are supposed to lead by example, and set the norms for what behaviour should be. Seeing leaders model the behaviour that they want the general public to follow is important, as people get a better sense of what they should be doing in a time of crisis.
And if you're at home with family, well, you should be setting the norms as well! Talk to your family, or your housemates, and set those boundaries. Be the change you want to see in the world.
Practice social distancing
I saw this picture, which I think summed up a lot about what I've said in this piece - there are really important messages that are being lost when coming up with new ways to say simple things and wrap them up in concepts that don't easily make sense.
It gives people very distinct, clear instructions, and lets them know the new rules. It's very clear to know whether you've stuck to the rule or not - are you at home? No? THEN WHY ARE YOU OUT? Are you out for the second time in a week to get groceries? THEN DON'T BE.
"Practice social distancing" - okay, sure, but 1. how long should I do this for? 2. how often? 3. can I still go to my mates house but keep my distance? It's too easy to weasel your way out of it! Even the WHO is trying to change that to 'physical distancing' now to be more clear.
On that note, another one related to this one was the stay 1.5m away from other people. Um, I don't know about you but I'm real bad at estimating distances - how do I actually know what that safe distance should be? What's going to happen if I don't have this space between!
I had to get out a meter ruler that I had from yonks ago to work it out with mum - though it's specific, it's not easy actually contextualise when you're in the moment.
Maybe it's a case of overthinking it and the end result is just 'don't get too close to anyone', but I still think something more...distinct to remember would be better? Like - what if they said - 'If you can trust fall on them you're too close' - isn't that easier to imagine?
So what?
Okay, I admit, I'm a bit stir-crazy at home and just needed somewhere to vent about all this. And look, my readers are probably not the people that I'm really aiming this all at. I'm just hoping that you guys are safe, secure and following all the relevant medical advice that's necessary. Keeping that illusion of control that maybe writing this piece will help in some small way (hey, we're all prone to these cognitive biases!).
But I think that in a time of emergency, maybe it's important to be specific and clear about the advice we give to others - otherwise, change doesn't happen.
Stay safe, chat soon :)
✔️ Real Life Recommendations
- Move around: you're working from home, make sure you schedule breaks in your day to get up and move around. That's one thing I've realised that has really annoyed me - my body is aching due to all the sitting I'm doing. I'm scheduling two 15m breaks during the day to stretch, and then at the end o the day when I'm 'going home', I do more moving around - either a walk, a run or even some pushups and situps at home. If I don't have to be on a video call, I'll do some wallsits or squats!
- Keep your routines: I still mock 'go to work', which is me picking up my bag from one room and walking to another one to set up my laptop, but it psychologically helps a lot to do so. If you separate where you work from where you rest, it helps you sink into the right mindset for the day :)
🚌 Adventures on the Information Super-Highway
- How the Virus Spread - read in incognito if it doesn't load - it's a really great visualisation of what happened and how this all got so bad!
- Ransomware Groups promise not to hit hospitals - that's nice I guess! I wonder what sort of innovations are happening in the crime space at the moment; or are they as scared as us? Do they do drug delivery now? Who do they rob now with social distancing!
- Wall Street wants bailouts but used their last one on buybacks - US focussed, but a bunch of companies are looking for bailouts during this pandemic, which, okay I get that business is going to be pretty shit. But what did you do with the last batch of money? Why weren't you saving or investing in the business, and instead just buying back all your stock...?
🌱 The Calathea Corner
Feleafcia knows how to physically isolate from all those nasty virus-laden trees outside! Stay safe y'all!
