As the quarantine has taken over the lives of everyone in America, celebrities, influencers and “normal people” alike have increased their social media use. This has led many platforms to commission celebrities and influencers to post messages encouraging people to stay home, wash their hands, help those in need and practice social distancing. While these icons with large audiences can act as positive role models to make these practices enticing, many online have also found faults in their claims. 

These positive messages that encourage healthy living throughout the COVID-19 pandemic have been splattered throughout social media. Many performers and artists have highlighted portions of their songs that are 20 seconds long and placed the lyrics accordingly with the CDC’s hand washing guideline. So, if you’re tired of the ABCs or Happy Birthday, feel free to visit Miley Cyrus’s Twitter page to see how you can combine hand washing and “The Climb.” 

On top of the health concerns surrounding COVID-19, many are suffering job loss and unemployment, and celebrities are not failing to recognize this either.

Anastasia “Stassie” Karanikolaou, best known for being Kylie Jenner’s best friend, has launched the “Do Your Part Challenge” which is now in partnership with DoorDash. In this challenge, she invited her fellow celebrities and socialites to donate three meals, which she is doing daily, to those who are in need. Other popular household names, such as Justin and Hailey Bieber, Noah Centineo, Britney Spears, Demi Lovato and more have all hopped on this trend. This challenge, which started as the offering of meals to those in need, is utilizing local restaurants to support their businesses, as well as offering diapers, household supplies and other groceries to Americans nationwide. 

All of these celebrities have stepped up to the plate to offer some of their wealth in this time of need. While these gracious acts don’t come without many thanks, they also invite a lot of public criticism. Criticism ranges from shaming these celebrities for not giving enough to shaming others who have not publicly shared their donations for not giving to the community when they have privilege. However, in this time of need, it is more important to give thanks to those who have reached out than to offer mean words to those who have not. Some celebrities are fighting “The Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020.” Just ask Patrick Schwarzenegger and Tori Spelling. 

On top of other important issues, the quarantine has found itself to be painstakingly boring. While extroverts have been feeling the pain of social isolation since day one, even those more introverted are ready to get out of their homes filled with family, pets and at times, utter chaos. 

Some celebrities and influencers have used the opportunity to share activities with their audiences. Debbie Allen held an Instagram Live where she fought off boredom by offering a completely free dance class. On top of this, Amazon Music and streaming platform Twitch presented a program called “#togetherathome” which provided live streams of musical guests “in your living room.” Performances included Five Seconds of Summer, Dua Lipa, Thomas Rhett, Major Lazer, John Mayer and more. These celebrities and artists all shared their experiences and offered an hour to an hour and a half of their time to entertain their fans during this quarantine. 

These types of streaming and video activities have been very popular among celebrities. Many celebrities have taken to Instagram to offer their daily activities and schedules, and to TikTok to show off their dance moves. And while these activities have all been fun to watch and participate in, the A-listers have not failed to express their dismay in this time of utter boredom. Singer Sam Smith posted a duo of photos with the caption “Stages of a quarantine meltdown,” and Kylie Jenner shared that “my pregnancy prepared me for this. I didn’t leave the house for months. We got this.” While Smith’s comments may be too relatable and Jenner’s may offer a little inspiration to just keep moving day by day through this pandemic, many were not happy with their comments. 

While the quarantine is affecting just about everyone, the general public has highlighted that some people’s quarantine boredom looks a lot different than others’, especially celebrities. One Twitter user, @sydnieavery, said, “celebrities complaining abt being bored while in their multimillion-dollar home really confuses me. how are u gonna be bored with a movie theater, an arcade, a pool, and enough space to do a cartwheel. have a heart.” This opinion was not uncommon, as variations of the messages cross the Twitter timeline many times every day. Much of the help from celebrities has been masked by messages of this sort. 

Some, such as @panzer on Twitter, has even taken the step to say, “Could quarantine break our obsession with celebrity? All of them are bored at home and it shows. And when they try to do something attention-grabbing, it lands with a clang because we’re all anxious and scared. Exposing just how dull most of them are without the world as a stage.” While I think this may be a bit of a stretch, this is a unique experience for celebrities in how they use their platforms. Where this will go, I am not sure; however, quarantine has brought a whole new lens to celebrity status. 

Whether through their charity or publicly condemned thoughts or actions, celebrities maintain their position at the top of social media feeds, newspapers and conversations. It is important to recognize the good that those are offering in this time of need and the celebrities that have shown their support. While everyone is struggling to grasp this situation both physically and emotionally, though celebrities may have more privilege, they are still human beings, and the words typed behind the screen can and will have real consequences on them. 

So, I encourage kindness. However, I too am jealous that I am stuck in my five-person household without a movie theater, basketball court, swimming pool or arcade.