Spreading smiles, awareness memes keep residents cool

TNN | Apr 13, 2020, 04.22 AM IST

Meme creators have been playing a constructive role during the lockdown by spreading awareness among the residents to stay home to avoid contracting Covid-19. Besides awareness, funny mistakes while working from home and dubious claims mocking the decline in pollution level during the lockdown are doing rounds in the social media to keep the people relaxed.

"Memes we notice on Facebook brings spontaneous laughter. We share such humorous contents in WhatsApp groups having friends and family members to spread the smile," P Venkatesh, a 45-year-old resident of E Pudur added. Satirical takes mocking the difficulties in working from home are among the most received by the netizens. Apart from preventing people from panicking with funny posts, city-based Facebook pages are also promoting awareness among the residents to stay home and to stay safe.

"Government and medical professionals are doing a lot to eliminate the virus. As social distancing and staying home are cited as the best preventive measures, we are encouraging people to abide by the laws," Rockfort Vicky, a meme creator from Trichy, told TOI.

City-based social media pages and groups report a sharp spike in the audience sharing their posts since the last week of March. Usually, weekends bring great traffic to social media pages.

However, the people behind the pages said that irrespective of weekdays and weekends, their posts relating to Covid-19 are attracting at least 4,000 views against the 2,000 views a day before the lockdown.