The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 17

January 12, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 10 Opinions I’m just so tired We can all agree 2020 was a terrible year. Maybe, the worst one that our generation remembers, and hopefully, the worst that we will have in our lifetime. Many of us went into 2021 with hope that the worst was behind us, but the events of last Wednesday showed us that it is not over yet. The start of this year has been so bad that I am struggling to find the words to describe it. Even just remembering it is giving me a stress headache. It has all been way too much for a generation. This generation lived through two economic recessions, watched the rise of extreme nationalism and a live attempt at a coup d’état, grew up in the fallout of 9/11 and was taught from a young age what to do in case of an active shooter. Yet, other generations have the audacity to ask what is wrong with us. The same generation that told us that we didn’t know what we were talking about when we spoke out against injustice and human rights violations was the same generation that made up the majority of last week’s insurrectionist movement and called for violent and lethal action against peaceful protests following the death of George Floyd months ago, committing acts of domestic terror and then claiming that they were peaceful. After this, I think I have seen it all. I doubt that 2021 will have anything left to surprise me. At this point, I am numb to it all. Is mental health being overlooked in a time of COVID? With the spread of COVID-19, it’s no surprise that mental health has been hypothesized to be declining due to the high mortality rates of the virus and the general isolation from friends, family and the daily routine that people were accustomed to before the pandemic. Although stay at home orders have eased since their commencement in March 2020 and people can now go to work, run errands and eat at restaurants, there are still various restrictions such as social distancing and mask ordinances. Life just isn’t the same as it was before the pandemic, making individuals feel quite lonely and depressed. In addition, outside stressors caused by the election, issues at home and toxic or abusive relationships may impact an already altered mental health state. All of these factors have caused many people to either enter a state of depression or worsen their pre-existing state. However, mental health is being overlooked. Physical health has become the main concern, which is understandable considering over 11 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and over 246,000 people have, unfortunately, died from it. Yet, with all of this happening, many people’s mental health states are getting much worse. People may not even realize that their own friends and family may be suffering because they are focused on the physical impacts of COVID-19, causing an overlook of the warning signs of someone’s mental health decline. As comedian and mental health advocate Kevin Breel says, “We live in a world where if you break your arm, everyone runs over to sign your cast, but if you tell people you’re depressed, everyone runs the other way.” It’s important to acknowledge mental health during these tough times because many are suffering, which has already caused an increase in the U.S. suicide rate. I do think that mental health has I do think that mental health has always been something overlooked, but during the time of COVID-19, it has been overlooked even more due to the focus on physical health. Mental health needs to be acknowledged and people need help. It may be difficult to physically check in on friends and family due to restrictions, but even a message or phone call can help. Times are tough and stressful at the moment, and both physical and mental health need to be balanced and addressed. Hiding behind a price wall Knowledge and information are one of the most important and influential concepts people can get their hands on, especially in the digital age. Because of this, people and companies tend to hoard their knowledge or only share it with those who pay a subscription, which is clearly seen in news and academia. Take news articles, for instance. The New York Times offers only four free articles a month for non paying subscribers,whereas sites likeBreitbart are free, but at the cost of journalistic integrity. Many sites will gatekeep users for the majority of their work with a price wall, only offering a certain number of sources to those who do not pay for the information. According to information scientist Karine Barizilai-Nahon, gatekeeping is a process of control access to information as a way of exercising power. Even the source I found that definition on was gatekeeping. I was only able to read less than a page of the article on gatekeeping before a price wall came up to tell me that, to get the full paper, I would have to pay at least $7 for a 24-hour trial. How can people justify excluding people from information? By hiding information behind price walls, it limits who can access information. This causes people to look for the first free source they can find, no matter the accuracy.Bygatekeepingcompleteandaccurate sources, these sites drive people to other less credible sources. Many free sites do not have the most accurate information, which is a shame. Sites like The New York Times that have a price wall also make revenue from advertisements and sponsorships to run just as well without subscription fees. TheAssociatedPress is a great example of this. The Associated Press is able to produce timely and accurate information at no cost to subscribers. This should be the standard for not only journalism, but academia. Anyone should be able to access accurate information about the sciences, humanities and any other academic domain. Otherwise, we see a society of people that deny sciencebecause theydonot understand it. Now, I’m not saying that free information will magically fix all the problems in the world, but by exposing everyone to a wider variety of accurate information, we can work towards solvingbigger problems in theworld. Ifwemake these resources available to everyone, then we may not have a rampant denial of the sciences or a distrust of modernmedicine. When accurate information is hoarded, it leaves a void that is quickly filled in by misinformation, but if the correct information is available and people are taught how to recognize misinformation, thenwe candiminishone of the problems we face today. “ We live in a world where if you break your arm, everyone runs over to sign your cast, but if you tell people you’re depressed, everyone runs the other way. By: Bella Ameiorsano Contributing Writer By: Alexander Martinie Opinions Editor By: Alexander Martinie Opinions Editor