Whenever I dared to post a joke or two on Twitter last year, people told me to “read the room”. How can you joke/ share anything that is not in line with the covid times. This policing was everywhere on social media.

What was not a surprise and I knew that it would happen: These people got bored of policing people after a few week, moved on, and started posting regular stuff themselves.

The cases had not decreased. They just realised that there was no alpha in telling people to read the room anymore. Take now, November 2021. Cases are still high in Kerala. Are people posting about Kerala obsessively? No. No one cares.

There is only a small window when you can virtue signal about something. I remember the good old Facebook days when people would change their DP to signal solidarity with something, let’s say Yemen or some terror attack somewhere, guilt trip you for not doing the same, then would post photos of themselves having a fun night out somewhere.

These people were not sad. They were not crying over Yemen.

They just wanted to signal that they care.

People who actually did something for covid did not do it to get likes. Or get their twitter account pasted on some relief site. These people were also not policing others on social media. They did not need to signal. They did it because they actually cared.

Be someone who actually cares. And please don’t tell people to read the room.