Because of the statewide issue of staying at home to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, many teens hop onto Tik Tok multiple times throughout the day to prevent boredom. This new social media platform has videos ranging from dances to comedy to travel. Recently, a new trend has popped up and it raises the question of, “What does this show about ourselves?”

As you may be aware, the United States is the current leader for most cases of COVID-19 with more than 100,000 cases according to World-O-Meters. This is serious. However, as more cases of COVID-19 rose, so did the popularity of making TIk Toks about the coronavirus. Most Tik Toks are meant to be funny, but this new trend may show the true colors of some individuals.

An account on Tik Tok by the username @clean.sound.x created a new audio that involves the coronavirus. “Co-co-corona, oh corona, that pulled up to your city like aloha,” is just a small part of the lyrics that show how this serious disease is taken as a trend, rather than a real life situation. In response to this audio, Tik Tok users create dances to match the audio. It starts off with people coughing and then hitting well-known Tik Tok moves.

Dancing to a Tik Tok audio about the Coronavirus makes the situation seem lighthearted, and may lead people to think the problem is not as serious as it is. Just in the United States, there have been an estimated  3,000 deaths so far. Not only are there dances and songs about COVID-19, but there are also hundreds of thousands of Tik Toks making a joke about the situation.

A viral Tik Tok about COVID-19 famously goes, “When you cannot see your friends because someone in China ate a bat,” referring to supposedly where the disease originated. This joke shifts the pandemic problem on China by implying that COVID-19 has been spreading because the first case originated in China, supposedly because someone ate an animal. Tik Toks like this lead to the spread of false information and has even led to mass discrimination against Asians.

Tik Toks can be funny, but maybe should not be involved in some situations. The Coronavirus outbreak is a global pandemic and should be taken seriously, as well as self-quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus. Although making Tik Toks may be a way to cope with staying inside all day, it is not an excuse to discriminate against Asians or make fun of the reality of the virus. In the end, this may say something about ourselves as humans, and it is not good.