Just because places are reopened doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. Now, I am not saying that I have followed the pandemic correctly. I bet no one has followed it 100% right. I have seen people that I do not live with and I have even gone to restaurants. But, I have not gone to a mass gathering, unlike some people.
There are influencers and even people you know who are going to parties and hanging out with big groups of people. Influencers have a huge impact on their fans and people who watch their content. Hence– why they are called influencers. There can be good for this, however.
Some influencers have been proactive about being an advocate for social distancing. Some of these include Tyler Oakley, Elijah Daniel and Chris Klemens.
Some of these influences are not using their platform correctly and some big influencers on Tik Tok even live in houses together. The two big houses are the Sway House and the Hype House. These two houses received a lot of backlash because of their actions during these last few months. These houses have had numerous parties and gatherings with people who live in the house and those who do not. In the pictures they uploaded, no masks or social distancing were present.
In July, the Hype House had a birthday party for its member Larri Merritt. This party took place in Los Angels when CVOID was in it’s highest recorded toll there. Some of the people who went apologized after being called out and some just ignored it completely. Some of these influencers who apologized then went to the next big party at the Sway House.
Then in August, Sway House member Bryce Hall threw himself a 21st birthday party. This house had a party a few days before this that caused them to get a citation. There were more people at this party than attended the Hype House party the month prior. There were popular influencers and exotic dancers who were all mask-less at this party. People compared this party to a frat party and also a night club.
After this party, the city cut off their water, power and gas so they would stop throwing parties. On top of this, Sway House Creators Hall and Blake Gray each got a $2,000 fine and could face up to a year in prison each. This is because they were charged with misdemeanors for defiance of local health orders.
Besides these bigger groups, there are also smaller influencer groups and houses. They do not get as talked about because they are not as problematic. Some do not even have names, they are just groups of people. The problem with these groups forming is that they are all meeting up and then deciding to live together. Yes, they will be living together. But they were exposed to other people before this and could be carrying antibodies. Also, these groups along with the bigger groups are constantly changing. They are always adding or dropping people so it is never the same group. This causes problems because it is not just the same group always but differs. Just like Team 10 used to.
The problem with this is that influencers are going and then apologizing after they get caught. They are posting pictures and putting themselves at risk and only say sorry when they are attacked for it. Along with that, some influencers don’t see a problem with it at all.
Charli D’Amelio, who has over 88 million fans, has been seen gathering with different types of people and sometimes not wearing a mask. She is only 16, so she may just be being a teenager. But, the problem with this is that she is not a normal teenager anymore. She has many fans who are naive and young that can see her going out and think they can do the same. If they see their favorite influencer doing it, they would want to do it too. Also, when she went to one party, it was after she got a nose job. The last place she should have been was a party since she was recovering from surgery and that makes her more compromised. Not to mention, she was also seen without a mask and not socially distancing. She may not have asked for it, but she has a platform.
Along with D’Amelio, Addison Rae is a big influencer who has broken quarantine as well. She has hung out with many different groups of people. From the Kardashians to the Vlog Squad, she has hung out with and posted them all. She also hangs out with members of the Hype and Sway House. In most of these videos, she is seen without a mask. Her hanging out with different groups and not following social distancing is putting those people in potential danger.
Not only influencers but celebrities have not been following social distancing correctly either. Madonna flew internationally from the UK to New York to attend a birthday party in the earlier months of quarantine, as well as the Kardashians who broke quarantine multiple times to visit people or have little gatherings. Even our own president, Donald Trump, has not been following it correctly either. He has been seen mask-less and with groups of people golfing and on outings.
There are also influencers and celebrities collaborating as well. Kourtney Kardashian and her son have posted Tik Toks with Addison Rae. They also have posted videos of just hanging out and going out to eat.
On the music side of this, Iggy Azalea has been talked about recently because of her recent Tik Tok collaborations. She has posted many different Tik Toks with different influencers recently. The biggest one is when she collaborated with @willywonkatiktok, a.k.a Duke Deep. He is a Willy Wonka cosplayer who has received backlash for his recent traveling and not following social distancing. In one of his videos in a Target, he was seen without a mask on in it. It may have just been a few seconds, but he was still promoting not wearing a mask in a store, even if he did not realize it.
Influencers and celebrities need to realize that they have a platform and instead of promoting their gathering, they can promote wearing masks and social distancing. It does not matter if you tested negative before you went to the party or they went out. These are just some examples of influencers and celebrities promoting gatherings and not following social distancing without even realizing it.
Now onto the local side of things.
What is college without partying? Oh yeah, a normal college experience. Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to party to have the college experience. Especially if your college experience is during a pandemic.
I know it’s exciting to go back and see everyone you haven’t seen in months because of the pandemic. But, seeing everyone and not socially distancing is only gonna do one thing. Take us back to where we were in March, home.
The amount of parties I have seen promoted and posted is absolutely terrifying. I know COVID is not as talked about on the news as much it was in March, but that does not mean it doesn’t exist. Numbers are still very high and people are still getting it daily. Certain colleges have already sent their students home. Do you want to be apart of the reason your college is sent home?
Going to parties where you are not wearing a mask or you are sharing drinks is by far the worst thing you could do right now. You can have no clue who is at that party or who has been where. Someone could have COVID and be spreading it without you even realizing it. You are putting yourself and others at risk by attending parties.
Greek life has been associated with increasing numbers of COVID on college campuses. You can still be in Greek life, but that does not mean you need to attend their parties and gatherings. Nothing is more important than your health.
Now I am not saying don’t see a small group of people or anyone ever. Just be smart and distanced if you want to see people that you do not live with.
Just remember two things: No one is immune to COVID, not even you, and wear a mask.
