Keep Calm And Figure Out New Ways To Carry On

At a moment in history like no other, when almost the whole world shares their collective experiences of being under quarantine, Raveena Joseph tells you how you can keep your head in the right place

- Raveena Joseph

The internet is on fire. As the world adapts to a shock like it hasn’t seen in modern history, the internet has become an equal source of solace and anxiety. Everything has moved online, from official meetings to Tinder dating, complete with exhaustive digital guides on the etiquette required for each kind of encounter.

As in the time of any other crisis, the line between news and WhatsApp forwards are increasingly blurred, especially as the news gets ‘curiouser and curiouser’ with each passing day. Only recently, primetime hour on a popular news channel ended with a request that Taimur, Saif Ali Khan’s 3-year old son, make an appearance to blow kisses at the viewers, to cheer them up on the first day of India’s nation-wide lockdown. While we can only speculate about the number of people who stand the risk of losing their health, loved ones, income and jobs during this crisis, we only need to turn to the internet to gauge how the public felt about Taimur’s inability to make an appearance because he was, “on the potty.”

Decidedly, a lot of the information coming out has been strange and disconcerting — did you hear about the sword waving Godwoman in UP? The man in Kerala who committed suicide after the government shut liquor shops? The woman who spat at a policeman after she was stopped in Kolkata? As we share a daunting global reality with those who feature in these clickbait-esque news stories, it isn’t difficult to discern why our anxiety levels spike with every phone beep.