Scrolling in the Year: 2020 in review
As 2019 drew to a close, I spent NYE at a secluded Airbnb in Wexford with my girlfriend and our friends. The Airbnb to our surprise, ended up being owner occupied (one where the owner would be staying in the house with us). As Paul gave us the tour of his dusty auld gaf he was giving us the impression that he either wanted to be our best friends or bury us all in his back garden. What followed was an incredibly awkward drinking session in his freezing “games room” (shed). This was capped off with a NYE toast with Paul’s own homemade Poitín and a hug from the man himself during the countdown that lasted a lot longer than it should have.
Looking back on that night, it was an omen for the discomfort that was to come in 2020. Much like my time with Paul, 2020 has been an otherworldly time spent hoping for the nightmare to end. 2020 has been “unprecedented”, “like no other”, “a year to remember” and a number of other descriptors that we’re sick of hearing. 2020 for many has blurred into one long anxious waiting game, and for others has been a tragic year they’ll want to forget.
For the last two years, I’ve written a blog post that looks at the biggest stories on our social media newsfeeds each year. Looking back on both my 2018 and 2019 recaps, they both seem like they’re from an innocent, blissful time when the news wasn’t bookended by case numbers and government guidelines. A time when we worried ourselves with the now trivial issues of Trump and Brexit.
“The Before Time”
It’s hard to remember a pre-covid time, but the first two months of 2020 were actually pretty normal. We did have a threat of World War 3 between the US and Iran, Australian bushfires and an Irish Election to keep us worried in some way. On a personal note, at the start of March I finished 3rd in Dublins Next Top Comic. That meant that after two years of toiling the open mic circuit a few nights a week, I'd finally get a few paid gigs in the future. This was it… My comedy career was about to take off and nothing, I mean nothing could stop it.
Covid Arrives
In March the only thing that could possibly put the breaks on that comedy career arrived on Irish shores. That mad thing in China making them all wear masks and spray the streets with disinfectant would result in us all being sent home to work remotely for two weeks. This was so the virus wouldn’t impact the country’s health service too badly. The rest as they say, is history except we’re still living through it now. I’ve written a separate blog about my life in lockdown detailing what it was like in those initial few months but sure you know yourself…
The Year of the “Staycation”
With most people in Ireland unable to travel beyond 5km for months of the year, when lockdowns were partially lifted during the summer, 2020 became the year of the #Staycation. Social news feeds were populated with pictures of Ireland’s west coast, sunny south east and other places we’d not considered when Bali was open to us. A year where putting “Costa del” before any Irish name-place in your captions was guaranteed a wealth of likes.
I wasn’t going to miss out so I spent ten days travelling along the Wild Atlantic Way from Valentia Island up to Donegal. It was honestly one of the best trips I’ve ever had. You can’t beat driving by picturesque countryside and promising to buy a second home there as soon as you can ever earn enough to get a first one.
TikTok
The Chinese App TikTok exploded in popularity during the initial months of the Pandemic. The app was the most downloaded in the world for 2020 and showed us that people turn to simple dance routines, cat videos and strange cleaning tutorials when they’re in need of an escape. Having turned 28 in 2020, I only really feel old when I spend a few minutes on TikTok and see grown ups attempting dance challenges or lip syncing lines from TV shows that I’ve never heard of.
As the app is relatively new, those who are popular on the channel have already become stars so expect to see “Tiktokkers” on your favourite reality shows in 2021. Brands will begin to flock to the platform in the coming year and it will be an exciting app to watch, even just for mesmerising videos like the below…
Activism
The growth of “Hashtag Activism” is seen by many as a lazy way to support important causes. A simple tweet of a few words or a like is considered the bare minimum in order to just appear righteous to our friends. What 2020 taught us is that people can do a lot more online than we previously thought when it comes to making real changes. One of the moments that showcased the power of social media for good was the death of George Floyd in America.
A video of Floyd being kneeled on by a Minneapolis police officer for 8 minutes and 46 seconds was posted by onlookers and went viral in May. This gained global attention for the #BlackLivesMatter movement. What followed were hashtag trends like #BlackoutTuesday but more importantly petitions, associated charity links and a greater dialogue on race relations was amplified online. It’s clear that these initiatives have helped and will continue to help impact new laws, media portrayals and attitudes about race.
In Ireland, pages like the Black and Irish Instagram account gave us fascinating insights from black and mixed race Irish people on their experiences growing up here. It has also shone a greater light on controversial systems like Direct Provision.
Other examples of how activism fuelled by social media led to real change in 2020 were Marcus Rashford’s free school dinners campaign in the UK and the introduction of “Coco’s law” against online revenge porn in Ireland after a petition was shared on Twitter.
Trump
Having been a key figure in my previous yearly reviews, only a pandemic could grab more headlines than “The Donald” in 2020. Having put the world through 4 years of his Presidency, Trump would again run for President in 2020. This time he would be up against the 79 year old Democrat - Joe Biden. Despite winning more votes this time than in his last election, Trump would finish second to Biden and in true “Trumpian” fashion would call the whole thing a scam.
As his presidency ends, there’s hope for many that America can become a less divided place. In years to come we may even from the comfort of hindsight watch videos like the below and almost miss his cartoonish ways…
Vaccine arrives
As Trump makes his exit in 2021, we can only hope that Coronavirus’ grip on the world will start to lessen too. With case numbers spiking again and news of “second strains” it is genuinely hard to be positive about the whole thing. Having spent the majority of 2020 indoors and abiding by various guidelines in order to make the difference, it’s hard to know that things look now to be only getting worse.
The launch of many vaccines has given us all some hope of normality returning again. Despite what the social media conspiracy theorists tell you about them, I’ll be first in the queue when they come my way. If even just to visit Bali! Here’s to a happy and more importantly healthy 2021!