Editor's Note: Annika Olson is deputy director of policy research at the Urban Policy Research and Analysis Institute at the University of Texas at Austin and a member of the Public Voices of the OpEd Project. The opinions expressed in this comment are solely his. See more articles like this at CNNE.com/opinion.
(CNN) - The numbers from covid-19 are dire and continue to get worse. As of this writing, there have been more than 20.5 million cases and nearly 750,000 deaths worldwide. In the United States alone there are more than 5 million infections and the pandemic has claimed more lives than lost in the almost two decades that the Vietnam War lasted.
However, I keep seeing headlines like "Young Americans have fun at a party while spreading COVID-19 rapidly", "Parents cooperate with health officials after a teen party in New Jersey produced a COVID-19 outbreak" or "300 teenagers exposed to covid-19 at a massive party near Austin".
As I write this, there are crowds of people in the pool of my apartment building, without masks or the recommended physical distancing.
This was not supposed to happen. I'm in my 20s myself, and during the early days of the pandemic I wrote an open letter to my generation explaining why we should stay away from crowded beaches and stay home. I cited reliable facts and figures on the pandemic and, pointing to Italy, I warned of the consequences of not taking it seriously.
After CNN picked it up, my letter reached a national audience. In the face of conflicting public health advice, he hoped that highlighting the data itself would help change hearts and minds.
Five months later, it is clear that neither my article nor the many public health panels on covid-19 have persuaded many of my peers. I am trying to understand why.
This matter goes beyond my wounded pride. Young adults in their 20s and 40s are a significant part of the growing number of cases, and many more can be contagious even if they don't show any symptoms. If we want to stop the virus and reopen our schools, stores and restaurants, we need these people to join in the use of masks and respect the social distancing established by the health authorities.
Why are the facts not enough to do this? I have no definitive answers. But after five months of reflecting on it, I have some ideas.
First, public health campaigns that promote the total elimination of risk do not work well, especially for young audiences.
It's like abstinence-only sex education. It has been shown to be ineffective. But it is also associated with worse outcomes, because it deprives children of opportunities to understand how to reduce risks if they decide to have sex. Similarly, simply bombarding young people with #StayHome memes probably won't eliminate their risky behavior.
In fact, a 30-year-old man who thought Covid-19 was a hoax recently died after attending a "covid party" in Texas. Clearly, some are not getting good information on how to mitigate hazards.
In reality, we are in a worse position than those who teach abstinence-based sex education, because unlike the risk of sexually transmitted diseases or teenage pregnancy, what COVID-19 produces was unknown until a few months ago.
The pandemic has progressed rapidly and, given the mixed message from public officials, so has chaos. It is no wonder that when we tell young people that they can stay home or risk serious dangers going out, they choose to leave their homes.
- MORE: Coronavirus infections among younger populations are skyrocketing, says WHO
Second, the pressure from your peers during the quarantine is enormous. I feel it daily. How come so many people post about their trips to the lake, dinners at fancy restaurants, and darties (parties during the day) while I stay home?
Lastly, young people have always had a strong sense of invincibility. Gary L. Wenk, professor of psychology and neuroscience at The Ohio State University, reports that feelings of immortality depend on the fact that your frontal lobes are not fully developed or myelinated. This process is completed between the ages of 25 and 30.
People become more aware of their mortality as they age. This age group is simply not prepared for death. And during a pandemic, that's a problem.
So how can we apply these ideas to change their behavior?
One idea is to focus on a harm reduction model, which has successfully reduced teen pregnancy and substance abuse. Rather than an abstinence-only approach to the pandemic (never leave the house, always wear a mask, stay at least 2 meters from others), we can recognize that some people, especially younger ones, are going to take risks, like it or not.
Rather than saying, "KEEP HOME FOREVER," we can help young people understand which activities are safer - riding a bike with some friends, going on a hike, buying take out - versus what is more dangerous: parties at house with a lot of people and swim in crowded public pools.
We can also try to turn the pressure of your peers into a force forever. Studies show that the influence of friendships can be a powerful tool in reducing risky behaviors among young people. For example, students with friends who use substances are more likely to increase their intake. In contrast, after participating in a peer-run substance abuse program, they cut back.
Instead of embarrassing young people for following the crowd, we can encourage them to create an environment where putting yourself at risk for COVID-19 is against the norm. Some are already doing it. Just look at TikToks of quarantined family shenanigans, which include both young and old, and Instagram posts of homemade #quarantinecooking - a delight.
Lastly, research on invincibility shows that we can make the risks of covid-19 real by sharing fewer statistics and long-term consequences and showing more immediate personal stories.
We can start with the last words that the 30-year-old man who attended the 'covid party' said to his nurse: 'I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it is not.
Despite the past five months, I still believe that the more people understand what Covid-19 is about, the more lives will be saved. And I keep hoping that by reaching out to young people - who often set trends - we will also be able to influence the general population and not just flatten the curve, but squash it.
covid-19