CULTURE

All the Best Coronavirus Memes to Keep You Laughing Through Quarantine

When your healthcare system is entirely broken, memes are the best medicine.

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

The COVID-19 pandemic may be one of the lowest points in modern human history, but it's definitely a high point for memes.

As it turns out, the more time we spend holed up in quarantine, the more time we have to spread stupid images of people hoarding toilet paper. During trying times like these, memes are more than jokes. Looking at the lighter side of things is more important than ever when trying not to spiral into depression, and given the current state of the world, that makes memes a borderline medical necessity.

Anyways, there are some great coronavirus memes out there, so if you're going to get infected with a horrible, potentially deadly virus, you might as well get infected with some laughter, too.

Toilet Paper Memes

Despite the fact that COVID-19 is primarily an upper-respiratory virus, people have been hoarding toilet paper like they're expecting dysentery.

That's not to say it's not a good idea to have extra toilet paper to last through a quarantine, but there are definitely more important things to consider. Like...food.

Also, buying more toilet paper than you actually need is incredibly selfish. One family can only sh*t so much.

So enjoy being surrounded by toilet paper as the world falls apart around you. At least you won't have a dirty butt.

Handwashing Memes

Aside from quarantine and social distancing, washing your hands is one of the primary defenses against coronavirus. It's of the utmost importance to learn how to do it properly.

For those of us who do wash our hands properly, dry hands will likely become the bane of our existence.

Also, don't forget to sanitize surfaces. Wipe down your doorknobs, light switches, countertops, etc. to avoid the spread of germs.

Oh, and any face mask other than an N95 respirator mask—which are only needed by medical professionals right now and are in short supply—isn't particularly useful against coronavirus. So stop buying up masks. They won't help you.

Introvert Memes

To some extent, the whole social distancing/quarantine shtick is kind of old hat for introverts.

If anything, it's the ultimate excuse for those of us who already dislike social interactions.

That's not to say that the pandemic is a good thing, but hey, might as well seek out the positives.

Quarantine Memes

For most people, though, quarantine is a massive disruptor to daily life. It's important to establish routines wherever we can to establish a new sense of normalcy.

The internet can allow us to maintain work relations and social interactions to avoid total isolation.

Although the unfortunate reality is that major life events for many people will still be disrupted and potentially ruined.

It's hard to consistently stay positive during a period as stressful as this one, so remember to prioritize self-care.

Even if your plans are ruined, there are plenty of ways to still have fun from home. Like video games. Or...

People Taking Coronavirus Seriously Memes

Ultimately, as much as we joke, coronavirus is ridiculously serious.

It's of the utmost importance that we stay home and stop traveling unnecessarily.

The American healthcare system is absolutely broken, and we need to make sure that the most at-risk people in our community are able to access the life-saving medical attention they require.

So while we continue to laugh at all the coronavirus memes, let's keep in mind that human lives are on the line and it's each of our responsibilities to do our parts in preventing the spread.

2020 Memes

Oh, and let's also not forget that 2020 can, and probably will, get a whole lot worse.

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Calling Coronavirus "Boomer Remover" Is Twitter's Big New Meme

The question is whether or not we respond with empathy to the real fears of people who never had our best interests at heart.

Every so often, a dank meme appears with big pandemic energy, spreading exponentially until suddenly it's everywhere.

Such was the case with "OK Boomer" and so seems to be the trajectory of "Boomer Remover," Gen Z's new term for the coronavirus.

It started, like many memes, with a single Tweet:

According to writer Bailey Carlin's familial grapevine, middle school students have been referring to coronavirus as the "boomer remover." Naturally, Twitter saw this and immediately lost their collective sh*t.

"Boomer remover" quickly became the top trending topic in the United States.

But while the term has an obviously jokey air to it, there's also a very serious undercurrent of anger beneath the surface. Even a perfunctory scroll through related posts reveals an overwhelming number of people who genuinely feel like the boomer generation has destroyed the world for younger people. And while they might shroud their generational rage beneath the guise of humor, there does seem to be some real sentiment that the coronavirus might be the karmic reckoning that boomers deserve.

In truth, there is some irony at play amidst all of this pandemic horror. 53% of American voters over the age of 50 voted for Donald Trump (compared to only 35% of voters under age 24), and now Trump is bungling medical efforts to respond to a virus that has the highest chance of killing older people.

But does that mean it's fair to joke about a situation that has many people fearing for their lives, especially when not all of those people even support the awful policies that have left America entirely unprepared to handle a wide-scale health crisis? After all, the boomer generation isn't a monolith. 44% of people over 50 still voted against Trump.

We're in a very precarious position, culturally speaking (not to mention, in every other regard). The past four years have been an absolute nightmare for many young Americans. Faced with crippling student loans, rampant underemployment, poor healthcare options, lack of resources, etc., etc., etc., Gen Z and Millennials have been loudly crying out for help. In response, we have been called entitled and disrespectful by the older generations, told to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps as they vote against our best interests again and again and again. Of course, all of this is generally speaking. There are plenty of awful millennials and plenty of wonderful boomers. But social media is oftentimes a reflection of the overarching social conscience, and thus reflects generalities.

The question isn't really whether or not "boomers" deserve the coronavirus, the "boomer remover." The question is whether or not we respond with empathy to the real fears of people who never had our best interests at heart. Finding the right answer might not be so cut-and-dry. Even those of us who find divisive behavior uncouth shouldn't be so quick to ignore the pain and anger that has built up within younger generations over the past few years, as older generations have continued to spit in their faces and disregard their very lives.

Even worse, while many young, healthy people are self-quarantining for the greater good, too many older people are still viewing COVID-19 as a big media joke.

"For me, that would've just extended my vacation," said the same retiree from the above tweet, in reference to her annoyance over her cruise being canceled. "As long as someone was feeding me and changing my bed, I would be fine...People are too worried. The flu has killed more people than the coronavirus, and people haven't been as concerned over the flu."

Her sentiment, full of passive disregard for whatever low-wage workers need to risk their own safety feeding her and changing her bed in the face of a pandemic, is exactly why so many younger people hate the older generations. Oftentimes, it seems like they only care about themselves, other people be damned.

So while boomers may be fuming over the Boomer Remover meme, perhaps they can use their quarantine time for a little introspection. Regardless of whether anyone is right to use such a divisive, dark meme during such a trying time, the anger behind it is more than justified.

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Ghen Cô Vy| NIOEH x K.HƯNG x MIN x ERIK | WASHING HAND SONG | CORONA SONG

While COVID-19 may be the harbinger of the apocalypse, at least for global stock markets, that doesn't mean it can't also be the inspiration for some super catchy tunes.

As it turns out, one of the primary preventative measures we can take in combatting the spread of coronavirus is washing our hands. Unfortunately, it just so happens that most of us have no idea how to actually wash our hands properly. In fact, according to a 2013 study, only 5% of people know how to wash their hands effectively—a process that involves scrubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap before rinsing with water. But if people can't figure out how to perform an action as simple and basic as washing their hands, how can we possibly hope to prevent the spread of infectious diseases?

Enter Vietnam. Yes, the whole country. Well, kind of. Vietnam's National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health teamed up with lyricist Khắc Hung to release a coronavirus-oriented cover of the V-Pop song "Ghen" by singers Erik and Min. The resulting hybrid pop song, "Ghen Cô Vy," teaches you how to wash your hands the right way while also being really, really, ridiculously catchy.

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But the fun doesn't end with just just a catchy song, oh no. The true beauty of "Ghen Cô Vy" wasn't fully realized until dancer Quang Đăng released an accompanying dance. Only then could the song truly go...viral.

Generally speaking, people are much more likely to build essential habits if those habits are somehow gamified.

Whether it's getting a sticker on a chart every time you brush your teeth or gaining experience in an app every time you run a mile, gamification has the potential to make not fun things, well, kind of fun. That's where the real genius of Đăng's corresponding Instagram post comes into play. See, not only do Đăng's smooth dance moves mimic the actions of proper hand-washing, but he invites other people to join him in a dance challenge.

By laying out the necessary "dance" moves and encouraging others to share their own versions, Đăng effectively teaches people exactly how to do the basic thing they should be doing in the first place if they don't want to actively spread diseases. The full "game rules" are as follows, because, you know, they're kind of important:

"Game rules: You perform the dance of the song Ghen Co Vy with 6 hand washing movements as recommended by the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health...Take this challenge or share the following epidemic prevention habits:

1. Wash your hands often with soap or an antiseptic solution.
2. Do not put hands on eyes, nose and mouth.
3. Regularly clean personal hygiene, hygiene of utensils, houses and surroundings.
4. Wear a mask to go to public places, on vehicles or when you are sick.
5. Self-awareness to improve health for themselves, the family and the community.
6. People with symptoms of COVID-19 have high fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc. or close contact with infected person / person suspected of COVID-19 and limit contact with other people and contact local health facilities."

Đăng's efforts have been a massive success, with the song quickly becoming a worldwide phenomenon, especially on TikTok where people have been actively spreading their own interpretations of the "coronavirus song." One can only hope that the song's popularity translates to an uptick in improvement of actual hand-washing techniques because, really guys, it's not that hard.

Currently in the US, president Donald Trump is doing everything in his power to deny the severity of the coronavirus crisis. That leaves it to us, as informed citizens, to prioritize the safety of ourselves and the people around us and to make sure we're doing everything in our power to avoid spreading a deadly disease to the immunocompromised people in our communities. So listen to "Ghen Co Vy," and take it to heart. Then make sure to wash your hands many times every day.