Swine Flu and Sensationalism

I talked to my mother on Monday, and one of the first things out of her mouth is “Be careful, the swine flu is going around. You and Keondra make sure you wash your hands.” We were dying laughing because it sounded pretty ridiculous. I have been reading headlines about the swine flu since I left the country, but I haven’t actually read any of the articles, but the headlines have been enough and apparently the panic is increasing.

While the swine flu is spreading, I do think that we have to acknowledge the amount of sensationalism that is going on through the US media. While the swine flu is real it is only affecting a very small percentage of the population and it is very unlikely to be fatal. Headlines like yahoo news’ “Is swine flu the ‘big one’?” just seem a bit unnecessary. So people, wash your hands but no need to start counting down the days until swine flu causes the extinction of the human race.