How typical is MN of real life when it comes to Covid?

[Warhertisuff]

I'm thinking the average poster generally a lot more concerned and anxious than the average person, but that might just be my biases at play.

For me, mumsnet is like an alternate universe to the people around me and I atribute that to most of my family and friends having jobs that cannot be done from home.

Like another poster said, you cannot freak out over a shop being RAMMED if you're coming into contact with people all day every day at work.

Honestly everyone I know stopped following the rules last summer, including keeping up with what the rules are. Everyone has spent Christmas for example visiting family as normal so I would be really taken aback when I would log into mumsnet and see posts about dropping off presents at the doorstep, not inviting your brother over because he's not in your bubble etc.

If I asked my friends what a bubble is they wouldn't know what the hell I'm talking about!

Not been here long but have been a bit perplexed at reading some threads.

In my work/social groups. I'd say everyone is cautious but getting in with things. Nobody I know has stuck to the rules 100% nobody has washed their shopping and nobody is anxious about covid.

We know its there. We follow (Welsh) government guidance, face masks, hand washing, social distancing. Testing when appropriate. Minimising our bubbles and social contacts, but other than that we just get on with life.

I mean me and my colleagues have worked this pandemic with people spitting in our faces and coughing over us saying "I've got covid!" So I suppose in work we were a bit battle hardened to it all quickly.

I realised long ago what an extreme and alternate universe MN is. Especially in the Coronavirus section these days where the amount of utter bilge spouted is staggering.

I never slavishly followed "the rules" and nor did many people I know. We all bent them like mad, when / if it was even possible to know what they were. We have worn masks where legally required to do so and most of us don't go to large social gatherings anyway.

There were posters on here positively salivating for lockdowns. They are still here and would love further lockdowns. Thankfully, I don't believe I know any of them in real life. They would be utterly tedious. Who the fuck cares how many times the neighbours have left their houses and how long for?

presumably the people who want further lockdowns are the ones ditching all restrictions now, surely?

@herecomesthsun

presumably the people who want further lockdowns are the ones ditching all restrictions now, surely?

The only person ‘ditching all restrictions’ is Boris.

I don't know anyone in real life who is isolating as much as your average MNer (or even isolating at all) and taking LFT's every day (again, I suspect most people have never taken one at all).

People are just going about their lives - shopping, going for meals or to the pub, going on holiday, meeting friends.

I have never had the app, never taking a COVID test and am jabbed (my second one is next weekend) and that's pretty typical amongst everyone I know.

There seem to be a lot that come forward saying I'm not wearing masks any more, not following the rules. In our area, it's not like that at all, and I guess this is the reason our borough has continued to be at the lower end of cases all the way along.

DH has two main friends, one really ECV for two health concerns and in all fairness is adapting and meeting in pubs at quieter times. The other still working from home, won't meet anyone unless it's at least 2m apart outside. I have four different groups of friends. One lot we've been in their house recently (distanced) and had a meal inside at a pub. One lot haven't seen for ages, but 2/4 so we sat in my garden. One has struggled to get pregnant, had three miscarriages, but is now 22 weeks, so they're more of less in lockdown mode other than seeing me outside. I had a meal with the other group outside yesterday - it was the first time two of them had eaten out - one has been shielding, the other had a husband who was terrified of catching covid, so they've been very careful. These people work for schools, hospitals, the government, a nursery, a shop.

It's just different for everyone. I'm happy to continue being careful, especially as I can still meet up with up with for a drink, meal, walk outside. I disagree with not freaking out if you're working in places rammed with people - I find it's the opposite, I have two places of work, both with public (one involves 100 in a small hall a time) - I have to do it as they're my jobs, so I want to relax in my spare time and have space.

every other MNer seems to be CEV

I have seen this a lot and have to confess that I have no idea what it means.

@coogee

every other MNer seems to be CEV

I have seen this a lot and have to confess that I have no idea what it means.

Clinically Extremely Vulnerable.

@coogee

every other MNer seems to be CEV

I have seen this a lot and have to confess that I have no idea what it means.

CEV = clinically extremely vulnerable, there’s a list of conditions on the government website that mean those with the conditions are in this category.

Most people I know are just getting on with things as best they can.

I’m terrible because I’m going out for tea and to gasp maybe even a club for drinks today. First time since 2019 and I’m bloody sure I’m turning that opportunity down. Myself and my friends are vaccinated. Life is too short

Oh and to add, they lost me when they allowed 60,000 odd at football and god knows how many at F1 yet I couldn’t attend my DC sports day. A lot of the rules never made a bit of sends anyway

MN is ridden with anxiety. No one I know is like this in real life.

The range of jobs those on MN do will not be the same as overall in the UK, probably far fewer in some trades and more people able to wfh. Also the deaths have been disproportionately men, so more widows.

I have a friend IRL who went on a day out for the first time a couple of weeks ago that wasn't essential shopping and daily exercise. This is the only person I know like this.

I've had to.work throughout. Terrified at first. Lost the fear around a year ago. Very liberating have had covid and recovered

It seems to be that if there is, say, a 1 in a 1000 chance of death because of a virus or reaction to a vaccine, out amongst my contacts in the real world everyone presumes they'll be in the 999, but on MN a lot are sure they'll they will be the 1. This reflects peoples' anxieties and an anonymous forum I guess.

In the real world most will be correct, and in the MN world most, thankfully, will be incorrect.

Complete parallel universe. Even my clinically extremely vulnerable mum doesn’t behave like mumsnet. She’s remaining cautious but still goes out for meals in restaurants, had been on 3 summer holidays in the U.K., does a lot of childcare for us & both our kids go to nursery.. her choice.

I find it pretty sad how badly health anxiety affects people on here. It must be a horrible way to live. I have emetephobia & we’ve just had the sick bug in our house. It’s a short window of extreme anxiety for me & god it’s awful. Luckily, I’ll be fine again once 7 or so days have passed & the bug is seemingly gone! This must be what people feel like about covid & blimey, it’s exhausting!

Also, 100% people are trolls & lying a lot of the time.

Yep my dh is the same @Bobholll. We have had two weekends away pre "freedom day" and have a holiday booked in the summer. The waiter service was so lovely and civilised. Will miss that.

I don't think it is very representative of real life there seems to be a lot of hysteria flying around. In real life I've experienced none of it. Real life seems a lot more calm and measured by comparison.

Yeah the anxiety/mental health thing troubles me both ways.
There seems to be equally large swathes of people on Mumsbet who are either seriously anxious or suffer with poor mental mental due to fear around the physical affects of COVID or the effects of Lockdown.
If this is representative of real life than it really doesn't bode well for the future as it seems that almost every child's mental health has been destroyed by school closures and isolations etc.
Yet already CAMHS have such high thresholds for support.

I don't know anybody IRL that is like the posters on here, thank god!. Utterly obsessed with lockdowns, restrictions and long bloody covid. I'm sure some of the usual suspects are just bored and on the wind up anyway.

@Brokenrecord3006

I agree. Most of my friends don't realise you need to isolate and test with a temperature, they think close contact with a positive case is fine if you do a lateral flow test afterwards, and they aren't getting vaccinated simply because they aren't fussed. They just aren't glued to MN or the news so are just carrying on with life.

You see, in real life, I don't know people who don't know the official rules. Everyone I know understands when they should isolate and test, and they certainly don't think they can just ignore isolation if they are close contacts.

I do think on MN people who post are generally more anxious - be it about covid itself or the vaccine.

MN has more anti-covid vaxxers than I know of in real life - I don't know any in my rl and everyone I know has had theirs, even the more nervous ones.

I do know lots of people who have had covid. I read in MN about lots who don't know anyone who has had it. But I work in a school and had it myself, and it went round our school quickly and hard, so my experience is skewed from that.

I'm the only person I know who ended up in hospital with it, but I'm also CV.

I know of a few mid 40s women who have longer ongoing effects from covid, but don't know anyone who have had longer side effects of the vaccine, bar the odd feeling rough for a day after AZ or a sore arm for a couple of days with the others.

I guess everyone's experiences will be so different, often dependent in where they live, their age and their jobs. And, like with everything, people are more likely to post if they have a negative experience than a positive or neutral one,

@Backofbeyond50

Yeah the anxiety/mental health thing troubles me both ways. There seems to be equally large swathes of people on Mumsbet who are either seriously anxious or suffer with poor mental mental due to fear around the physical affects of COVID or the effects of Lockdown. If this is representative of real life than it really doesn't bode well for the future as it seems that almost every child's mental health has been destroyed by school closures and isolations etc. Yet already CAMHS have such high thresholds for support.

I don't think it's reflective of real-life at all, thankfully!

If you look closely enough, it's always the same handful of posters who are worried and anxious and who post on the COVID threads worrying about lockdowns, deaths, isolations etc. They may name change occasionally but it's obvious who they are if you read the threads often enough.

On top of that, people who are anxious won't be out and about, they'll be at home with time to kill, and using the internet a lot more, which only serves to fuel their anxiety even more.

I agree @icedcoffees.

My friends and family skew middle class/liberal/educated, so fairly similar to what I'd think of as the main MN demographic but more gender balanced. Most of them like to complain about the government lifting restrictions too early, but as far as I'm aware no-one is restricting any of their normal activities voluntarily. Very few seem overly concerned about catching it, any more than they don't want to catch any other illness. No-one is obsessed with long covid or ranting about selfish people everywhere, and equally no-one is (openly) anti-vax, mask-hating or anti lockdown under any circumstances. And in the wider community voluntary mask wearing seems to be about 30-50% in the shops or on public transport. I feel like the average view among people I know IRL is similar to the average view on MN, but the range only represents maybe the middle third of the spectrum that you see on here - MN definitely has more extremes on either end.

Then again, there's loads of views that seem common on here that I've never heard IRL. I don't know a single person who'd be unhappy about their partner meeting a friend of the opposite sex for coffee, for example. So maybe we're not as close to the typical MN demographic as I've always assumed.