Online Resources Spreading Positivity Amidst COVID-19
The world is at a strange juncture right now. We’re adjusting to a new way of life where staying home is the new norm and most of the conversations we have with those outside our home are via video chat or over the phone. Countless students have missed out on their athletic seasons, musical and theatrical performances, and graduation ceremonies. People are protesting stay-at-home orders. Hospitals are the new battlegrounds.
It’s important to hurt along with the world, to lament loss of everyday things that make us feel human. When we don’t let others grieve, it can feel to them as if we’re dismissing their very valid feelings. But, with the media overwhelming us with horror stories of COVID-19 and protests and conflicts, it’s also easy to start feeling like you’re drowning and that everything is terrible.
The good news is that everything is not terrible. And we’re hoping to find that balance, but we want to provide you with some really great resources dedicated to spreading positivity during this pandemic. For your growing anxieties and headaches, here’s some hope.
COVID Sucks, People Don’t
COVID Sucks, People Don’t is a new podcast from Hank Green of the Vlogbrothers. With this project, Green aims to spread awareness about people who are working tirelessly to fight the virus and make our world better--faster. He interviews those contributing to ending COVID and its spread. The first episode is an interview with Ian Haydon, one of the people participating in a clinical trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine. This podcast reminds us that, well, COVID sucks, but people don’t. Green, in a very lighthearted way, demonstrates that we are all one of these people in one way or another.
Good Good Good
Good Good Good is a media company aiming to “help people feel less overwhelmed and more equipped to make a meaningful difference,” and it does this in several ways. They offer a monthly subscription service newspaper that presents stories of positivity and drop it at your door--just like your regular newspaper, sans the turbulent negativity. They also have an email newsletter that delivers five good news stories to your inbox every week. Sounds Good is an optimistic conversation between Branden Harvey (GGG founder) and a guest that is posted every week. Finally, there’s also their Instagram page, full of engaging, positive posts and updates on the company.
The Happy Broadcast
Illustrator Mauro Gatti started to experience anxiety with negative news swamping his social media feed and decided to use his skills as an artist to illustrate and share good news on The Happy Broadcast. This initiative has launched a weekly post called “Happier Sunday: Coronavirus Edition” where he shares positive stories related to COVID-19. What’s more, you have the opportunity to submit your own positive news through the website!
Positivity is not the Band-Aid for a worldwide pandemic, but it sure can get people through a lot. In times where we’re all turning a bit closer to technology it can be easy to feel waterlogged with negativity, but the reality is that, while things are bad right now, good still prevails. We can find the good in a podcast, Instagram post, or maybe even by just turning off the phone and going outside for a breath of fresh air in the sunshine. It’s hard, and we are allowed to be upset. But we’re all fighting and we’re all in this together, and we have to allow ourselves to smile, too.
About the Author
Michaela (Mikee) Parangalan is a Filipino midwestern gal pursuing English on the East Coast. She believes in the power of reading, aspiring to help others recognize the value of narratives in equipping us to better understand the world and become better people. In her free time she enjoys rock climbing, visiting art museums, or discovering whatever her next adventure might be.