1.The Final Episode of SNS Eigojutsu

The March 20th episode of Sekai e Hasshin! SNS Eigojutsu was our final episode. We looked back at the past year on our show, and our panelists each talked about one hashtag that stuck with them.

Our MC Haruhi-san talked about Greta Thunberg’s #FridaysForFuture movement, our co-host Hide-san talked about #Overtourism, our resident English teacher Torikai-sensei talked about the #NobelPrize and laureate Yoshino Akira, and commentator Furuta Daisuke-san talked about #Nakamura—a hashtag celebrating the life and work of Nakamura Tetsu, a Japanese physician who dedicated himself to improving the lives of Afghans for many years before being killed in December 2019.

At the beginning and end of the episode, we also reflected on how social media has changed over the two years that we’ve been doing the show. Furuta-san commented on how the way journalists and reporters are collecting information has completely changed. Torikai-sensei talked about her experience signing up for and using social media, and remarked about how impressed she was by the influence it exerts on our real lives.

Looking at how social media has reacted to COVID-19, it’s heartening to see doctors utilizing platforms to share the latest information about the virus with one another. Meanwhile, many who are self-quarantining have been sharing movie and book recommendations and favorite recipes. Others have documented their attempts to make the most of their time—and gradual descent into utter boredom.

On the other hand, I gave a decidedly less positive take on the effect social media has had on our lives. Yes, it’s true that social media has enabled us to remain connected to one another regardless of where we are or what we’re doing. Yes, we have a world of information at our disposal. But has social media made us more tolerant or understanding of others—other cultures? I would argue that if anything, it has only widened the chasms between us. And the more serious or dire a piece of news is, social media’s reflex is not to inspire change but to scapegoat or sink into a feeling of disillusionment or powerlessness. This is evident in many of the social media posts out there about COVID-19.

Nevertheless, we as a society continue to be enticed by the false promise that social media is the answer to many of our social issues. In this article, I’ll be looking at the dark side of social media, and how it and language are being used in an attempt to influence how we see COVID-19.

2.What COVID-19 Tells Us About Social Media

The internet and social media are currently awash with misinformation, unscientific methods, and natural cures for COVID-19. In the U.S., a self-check test went viral on social media, falsely claiming that if you could hold your breath for more than 10 seconds without coughing, it meant that you didn’t have the virus. In Japan, rumors spread that the virus could be killed by drinking lukewarm water at 27 degrees Celsius or by eating natto (fermented soybeans)—both untrue. Other scammers have been sending out Coronavirus phishing emails and attempting to lure users to fake websites in order to obtain credit card numbers and other personal information.

The WHO has called this phenomenon an “infodemic" that is equally, if not more dangerous than the pandemic itself. As so much about COVID-19 is still unknown and being discovered, experts and authorities have no choice but to play catch up, usually coming around to addressing false rumors and misinformation only after they have become widespread enough to warrant their attention. Media coverage then comes last.

In order to stop the spread of misinformation, Facebook, Google, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, and Microsoft issued a joint statement explaining how they were committed to “helping millions of people stay connected while also jointly combating fraud and misinformation about the virus, elevating authoritative content on our platforms, and sharing critical updates in coordination with government healthcare agencies around the world." They also invited other companies to join their efforts. (While social media companies are usually slow to crack down on misinformation or false rumors when it pertains to politically-charged issues, it seems they are eager to address this public health crisis.)

But even if social media companies are able to take down misinformation and false rumors before they become too widespread, they will have a much more difficult time slowing down the spread of anxiety, fear, ignorance, and indifference. Even if the toilet paper shortage is a false rumor, when someone posts a photo of empty supermarket shelves, we instinctively feel like we have to hurry to stock up on toilet paper and hand sanitizer before it’s too late. And we tend to trust by default when the person posting or sending us said information is an acquaintance or a famous person. In this way, social media can fuel panic buying.

Then there are the brazen spring breakers who have decided that no “stay home" order is going to stand in their way of traveling down to Florida and flocking to the beach. Even when the news is attempting to condemn their actions, some will see the footage and begin to feel the pangs of FOMO.

Due to the way social media algorithms work, the more certain content is watched or shared or reacted to, the more it will show up in others’ feeds as something worth recommending. Whether its a comment to the effect of “You can’t live in fear" or an admonition like “You’re putting other people in danger", the algorithm doesn’t discriminate—all of it indicates the that the content is “hot".

These days we’ve come to understand the phrase “go viral" as something vaguely positive, but in times like these it’s important to remember that “to go viral" is “to spread over the internet from person to person like a virus." Even if we self-quarantine, social media still exposes us to other kinds of viral matter.

3.Oxymorons That Reveal and Oxymorons that Obfuscate

The key phrase to know at the moment is “social distancing”—keeping your distance from others and refraining from going to crowded places in order to prevent the rapid spread of COVID-19 and thus “flatten the curve”. The Japanese equivalent would be shakai-teki kyori senryaku (社会距離戦略) or shakai-teki kyori no kakuho (社会的距離の確保). The shift to working from home, the cancelation of sports events and concerts and campaign rallies, the closure of schools—all of these actions are part of a nationwide social distancing effort.

Social is the adjectival form of society, and has connotations of friendly companionship and an eagerness to connect with others. This is evident in phrases like a social person (shako-teki na hito, 社交的な人), social media, and the idea that humans are social creatures. Given this context, the phrase social distancing feels cold, impersonal, logistical—a euphemistic way of saying “isolation".

In Japanese society, human relationships are a complicated dance where the parties are constantly trying to gauge the ideal “social distance" between one another: that goldilocks zone where you’re being sufficiently congenial, while also giving the other person their space, and also leaving a window open for a graceful exit should anybody need it. The idea of social distancing feels almost intuitive. However, for a culture like America where handshakes, high-fives, and hugs are common social currency, social distancing runs counter to every instinct regarding social interactions. (That holds even truer for European countries like Italy and France, where it is common to kiss each other on the cheek as a greeting.)

A phrase comprised of two words with seemingly opposite meanings is called an oxymoron—a word derived from Greek words meaning sharp (oxy) and dull (moron). Common Japanese oxymorons include kouzen no himitsu (公然の秘密, an open secret) and arigata meiwaku (有難迷惑, unwelcome kindness). Perhaps social media is an oxymoron, too, given its tendency to make us feel alone.

Oxymorons are a high-level stylistic device used in literature and poetry where a more straightforward term would feel blunt and inelegant. For example, a deafening silence implies an absence of sound so acute it affects the soul. And even a term as simple as bittersweet captures an essential duality of the human condition, where happiness is fleeting and sadness is just around the corner. An effective oxymoron can shine a light on the essence of a matter.

On the other hand, there are also oxymorons that come across as gibberish and have the effect of obfuscating the essence of a matter. Even such innocuous-sounding phrases like jumbo shrimp, minor crisis, only choice, working holiday, and zero tolerance actually become less clear as you try to decipher their meaning. For this reason, politicians love oxymorons—and similarly, euphemisms—for their ability to help them spin or hide the truth.

The Trump Administration is especially fond of these types of rhetorical devices, which allow them to rebrand news that is critical about their dealings to their advantage. After all, what is an alternative fact but a roundabout way to say “a completely subjective opinion unsupported by the facts and science"? In the eyes of the liberal media, the phrase fake news is also an oxymoron, as the things they report are theoretically all newsworthy and at least backed up by some sort of objective reporting. When President Trump calls reporting he doesn’t like “fake news", he’s not only accusing the media of sensationalism, but casting into doubt the integrity of the entire endeavor of journalism. And while social media can be an indispensable tool for journalists, it can also be a devastating weapon in the hands of someone like President Trump.

It’s up to each of us to decide whether the Trump Administration uses phrases like alternative facts and fake news to shine a light on the fact that we live in a post-truth era where categorization, quantification, and scientific analysis are not the only ways to understand the world—or if its just their own clumsy equivalent of the "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" refrain.

4.We Are Being Tested

To date, President Trump has utilized the power of social media to overcome every roadblock and scandal that comes his way—from extramarital affairs to his impeachment. At the same time, social media has been the venue for both gloating about his (supposed) successes and denigrating his predecessor and other enemies. In each of these cases, his target has been human, or a matter pertaining to a human. But with COVID-19, he faces a foe he cannot bulldoze, a threat he cannot just bombard with tweets or drone strikes. And social distancing means that he cannot rely on political rallies and chants of “Keep America Great" to drown out the crisis on hand.

Trump’s social media strategy only works when his enemy has a human face. This is why it should come as no surprise that he would start referring to COVID-19 as a “Chinese virus". Questions about the virus’s origins and conspiracy theories aside, COVID-19 does not have a human face; it is Mother Nature; it is globalization. Ultimately, Trump will have to come up with other tactics if he hopes to get through this test.

We will have to do the same. In the past, whenever there’s been a major disaster or crisis, our number one concern has been getting everything back to how it was. Whether it’s the swine flu or SARS, whether it’s 9/11 or the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the question on everybody’s minds has been, “When do we get our normal lives back?" After 9/11, Americans made it a point to go out and congregate, as they believed that staying indoors would be admitting defeat in the face of the terrorist threat.

This time, however, things appear different. Indeed, we may never get our “normal" lives back. Sports—a symbol of peace and the resilience of the human spirit—has essentially been put on hold across the board, and it feels like it’s only a matter of time until they postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Movies—which we’ve covered often on SNS Eigojutsu—are also in a precarious position, with tentpole movies being postponed and movie theaters across the world wondering if they will ever be able to draw audiences away from their video streaming services.

We are currently being tested—whether or not our governments, economies, industries, and societies can change and adapt to the world around us.

In English, people have been calling this the “new normal". But when you really think about it, isn’t “new normal" just another oxymoron? As long as this expression is in vogue, we can take it as a sign that we are still struggling to come to terms with our reality.

The March 20th episode of Sekai e Hasshin! SNS Eigojutsu marked the end of our show’s run. Over the past two years we’ve covered a range of topics, from global affairs to hashtag games. All throughout, I’ve strived to highlight English expressions both useful and interesting, while also shining a light on American society. My deepest thanks to everybody who ever watched the show or read any of my pieces reflecting on the show each week.

5.My Wardrobe For This Week

Brown suit by GlobalStyle

Check out FASHION & SHOPPING #023 for more information about this item.

Brown button-down shirt by Le Canon

Check out LANGUAGE & EDUCATION #028 for more information about this item.

Mahogany socks by Tabio

Check out FASHION & SHOPPING #026 for more information about this item.

“Poe" brown double monk strap shoes by Paraboot

Check out FASHION & SHOPPING #008 for more information about this item.

Black glasses by Zoff

I’ve talked about this item before. See FASHION & SHOPPING #006.