Pandemic Pop Culture in America and Foreign Countries

 United States

As a member of Gen Z, dealing with a global pandemic is the most intense thing that has ever happened to us. Many of us were born after 9/11 and we never had any major wars that impacted our lives on a noticeable basis. Many of us didn’t know how to deal with it and turned to our excessive use of social media to make the most out of the situation with humor. Memes and TikToks immediately took the world by hand and kept us in good spirits. Below are a few examples:

This meme alludes to the possible start of the virus - bats in china - and 

how its eventual impacts on the U.S.

This user had a hilarious take on the increasing workload of young Americans 

and the possible financial problems their generation might run into.

Violinists playing the song that the Titanic did while it 

sunk in a grocery store aisle without toilet paper.

One thing that really stuck out to me though was music. Several artists made songs about what we were going through and how we were feeling. Music has always been a huge coping mechanism for people during times of distress, so I really appreciated the quick work of musicians to make music that we could relate to so quickly. This song is “Level of Concern” by 21 Pilots:

Overall, I think that America did a really great job of keeping us connected with social media. There were endless creative ideas to showcase our support and make the most out of a bad time. We rallied together to find positivity and humor from the darkness.

Globally

Another shame was the cancelation of many beloved events across the world. Disney Parks were shut down globally, the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo was postponed, and Edinburgh, Scotland had its annual festival canceled for the first time since it started after World War II. It was a great tragedy to see so many events canceled that gave the world so much joy. People began to cope with those disappointments the same way that many of us did in the U.S.: with social media. Soon, dalgona coffee, known more commonly here as whipped coffee, sprung up in South Korea as a trend and captured the world’s attention. It is a mixture of milk and frothy, heaving mixed coffee. Below is a tutorial of how to make it:

As spread apart as the world may be, we all unified as one during this time of need. We all shared giggles on TikTok regardless of what language the videos are in and shed a tear when our favorite events got canceled. As much as we may feel disconnected from those across the globe, we were all on social media as one to cope with the stress of living through a global pandemic.