Quarantine, as told through tweets
An oral history of the last year, from tweets by Chapman students and celebrities. Photo illustration by SAM ANDRUS, Photo Editor
Since the inception of the pandemic, almost all social interaction has taken place online, leading to both increased vulnerability and comedy in the activity of social media users. Here’s a compilation of equally hilarious and heartbreaking tweets from the Chapman University community and the rest of the world, broken down by the seasons since March 2020, that accurately describe what online life in quarantine has been like.
Spring 2020
Last March was a confusing time in the U.S. Many large events were canceled, but most state lockdowns weren’t implemented yet. The pandemic felt like it was spreading more in other countries, leaving those in the U.S. to brace themselves and study from a distance.
When Italy shut down early on, videos of Italians standing on their balconies and singing together circulated across social media. Ally Hord, a comedian and writer for “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” tweeted a year ago Mar. 15, “We get it, Europe, you all have BALCONIES.”
Once lockdown reached the U.S., our new lifestyles felt incredibly confusing, with unprecedented events and lifestyles constantly popping up around us. Nic Wratten, a senior creative producing major at Chapman, said it best when he tweeted Mar. 25, “do you ever look around and realize we’re living in a f------ (AP U.S.) history chapter.”
Summer 2020
Chapman students were getting a little antsy in summer 2020, as with a spike in COVID-19 case rates, many realized the pandemic would last longer than we initially thought. Perhaps as a coping mechanism, according to junior screen acting major Ben Rotenberg — a prominent figure on Chapman Twitter — Chapman accounts sprung up across social media that pretended to be tweets from administration, such as a since-suspended account that parodied university President Daniele Struppa.
In mid-June, a text group chat formed between a few members of Chapman Twitter in an effort to find out who ran the Struppa account, according to Rotenberg. The group chat grew to over 30 people, as curiosity built as to who was behind the account. Junior screenwriting major Sarah Bloom summed up the feeling of mystery and intrigue with a June 15 tweet: “chapman twitter is living a coming of age movie rn.”
Fall 2020
The night former President Donald Trump contracted COVID-19 set left-learning Twitter ablaze, as discourse shifted throughout the night — first jokes erupted, then questions abounded as to whether it was ethical to make jokes. Ultimately, however, many decided to parody the situation, as Rotenberg did with an Oct. 2 tweet: “Look do I disagree with trump on a lot of issues? Yes. Am I still gonna wish him a speedy recovery because at the end of the day he’s a person? Absolutely not.”
Another highlight for liberal Twitter came the Nov. 7 morning when President Joe Biden was first announced as winning the Electoral College. Comedian Mary Beth Barone captured the relief and excitement perfectly, tweeting “we getting drunk tonight,” adding an emoji of a smiling face wearing sunglasses.
Winter 2020
After another semester spent virtually, junior screenwriting major Sarah Gindy tweeted Dec. 6, “the amount of money i would give to be able to listen to campus by vampire weekend while walking through an actual functioning college campus.”
Meanwhile, the way we consumed media during quarantine — almost constantly just for the sake of being stimulated — was summed up succinctly by junior television writing and production major Sam Bailey, who tweeted Dec. 5, “nothing more satisfying than listening to a podcast while scrolling through twitter and retaining absolutely none of the information from either.”
Spring, again
It finally feels like hope is on the horizon, with millions of Americans receiving COVID-19 vaccines. One March 6, 2021 tweet from author Kaitlyn Greenidge makes me feel especially hopeful: “Both my seventy something mom and a relative got asked out in the vaccine line. I'm telling you ppl are ready. This summer will be wild.”