Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society

‘Avoid the Coronavirus Blame Game’

Tuesday, July 7, 2020, By News Staff
Share
Faculty VoicesNewhouse School of Public Communications

Rebecca Ortiz is an assistant professor of advertising in the Newhouse School. Her primary areas of expertise are health communication research and campaign development and evaluation.

woman's face

Rebecca Ortiz

In many states across the United States recently, the coronavirus positivity rate for people under the age of 35 has grown higher than for those older than 35. The younger population is not adhering to social distancing restrictions, and the messaging being used to drive that home is ineffective.

These younger Americans are being singled out collectively in the news media and on social media for their seeming reluctance to abide public health directives to curb the spread of COVID-19. In an opinion piece for U.S. News & World Report, Ortiz suggests health communicators should reframe their messaging and recognize that pointing fingers at young people for flouting pandemic health guidance won’t get more of them to listen. “The underlying message is that young people do not care about others, and that they are selfish and short-sighted,” she says.

“While public shaming and finger-pointing may seem like a persuasive tactic to get those who refuse to adhere to health guidelines to fall in line, it also could unnecessarily create more division and tension among an already anxious and fearful population,” she writes. “Health guidelines already have become highly politicized and partisan, pushing the nation further into an us vs. them mentality. We must avoid further division and acknowledge that no one is untouched by this pandemic.”

Ortiz says it is important to recognize that while older Americans are likely to view the pandemic as a threat to their personal health, younger Americans see the coronavirus differently. They are more likely to have lost their job or wages as a result and experienced emotional distress.

“If we want to appeal to young people, public health messaging cannot just focus on how mask-wearing and social distancing may reduce deaths and hospitalizations among our most vulnerable,” Ortiz writes. “It also must emphasize how these behaviors can help us get back to work, back on college campuses and back to all the places we enjoy spending time with others.”

To read her essay in its entirety, visit the U.S. News & World Report website.

Syracuse University media relations team members work regularly with the campus community to secure placements of op-eds. Anyone interested in writing an op-ed should first review the University’s op-ed guidelines and email media@syr.edu.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Syracuse University Ranked in the Top 25 for Best Online Graduate Information Technology Programs by U.S. News & World Report
    Tuesday, January 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • WAER 88.3 FM Welcomes New Sports Director
    Tuesday, January 26, 2021, By Mary Kate Intaglietta
  • The State of the Immigration Courts
    Tuesday, January 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • Athlete, Activist Maya Moore Joins the Martin Luther King Jr. Virtual Event Series Jan. 27
    Tuesday, January 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • Health Promotion Advocate and Alumnus Sidney Lerner ’53 Remembered
    Tuesday, January 26, 2021, By News Staff

More In Health & Society

Health Promotion Advocate and Alumnus Sidney Lerner ’53 Remembered

Sidney “Sid” Lerner ‘53, alumnus of Syracuse University and benefactor of the Maxwell School’s Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion, has passed away. During his career, the legendary advertising executive represented such well-known brands as Maxwell House and Texaco, and…

A&S Speech Disorders Professor: Poet Amanda Gorman’s Story Shares Important Lesson

National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, Amanda Gorman, captured the world’s attention this month after she read her poem “The Hill We Climb” during the 2021 inauguration ceremonies. While her performance took people’s breath…

‘Trust the Process’ with COVID Vaccine, Emergency Management Director Says

Trust the process. As a 16-year member of the United States Air Force Reserve and now in his job as director of emergency management and business continuity at the University, Joseph Hernon has always followed that philosophy. And that’s why…

Ph.D. Student in Clinical Psychology Works with Non-Profit to Fill Unmet Need in Asian Community

Jin Zhao is a fourth year Ph.D. student working toward his career goal of becoming a practicing psychologist. His qualifying exam project is researching Asian college students and how their experiences of microaggression are related to their attitudes about going…

‘2020 Was Broken and Beautiful. 2021 Needs Grace and Grit.’

The Reverend Brian E. Konkol, Ph.D., dean of Hendricks Chapel, wrote an op-ed for Syracuse.com titled “2020 was broken and beautiful. 2021 needs grace and grit.” The Rev. Konkol leads religious and spiritual life both at the University and across…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.