By: Hannah Sang
Dear Editor,
On July 22, social media stars went to the Hype House to celebrate the 22nd birthday of Larri Merritt, a TikToker also known as Larray. Online personalities such as Emma Chamberlain, James Charles, Tana Mongeau, Charli and Dixie D’ Amelio, Nikita Dragun, and the Sway boys attended the party, and there was absolutely no social distancing and mask-wearing from what people have seen from their social media posts. The coronavirus pandemic is still raging across the United States, and these celebrities are irresponsibly partying without any thought or consideration about others in this world.
New coronavirus case counts were peaking just on the week of the party. “We’ve never had as many people infected or infectious.” Los Angeles’ Mayor Eric Garcetti warned. People have lost their jobs, businesses have closed down, and according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 157,631 people have lost their lives to the coronavirus as of August 7.
The bare minimum for every person, including influencers, is to follow coronavirus protocols and wear a mask in a public area or stay home if directed to do so. People have to constantly consider their actions every day, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, because if one person gets infected, they could unintentionally spread the virus to countless others.
An influencer status shouldn’t allow one to party during a global pandemic; influencers are still people, and they are not immune to a virus of any sort. With their large platform, influencers can tell their followers to wear masks, stay home, etc. They could be preventing the transmission of the coronavirus when in reality, they’re also spreading it.
Hannah Sang