As entire economic, healthcare, and social systems collapse under coronavirus, one Facebook group is compelling people to take refuge in escapism – by pretending to be ants. Its members are finding solace by play-acting and carrying out a collectivist effort that they feel the real world needs, and is lacking. We explore the insights behind the group, and why people prefer the ethos of virtual bug colonies to those of real world leaders.
“A group where we all pretend to be ants in an ant colony” is a Facebook group that does what it says on the tin. People from around the world participate in a semi-genuine, semi-satirical exchange of comments, jokes, and memes, all under the pretence of being ants. One post reads: “I am tired of bringing food to the Queen to justify my existence. When does it end? When can I have some of the food I bring home? When will I see the value of my labor?” A response calls the poster in question a “goddamn traitor”, and discussion ensues.
The ant group has long existed on the fringe of the internet, but in the era of COVID-19, it’s gaining momentum, having ramped up from 150,000 members in mid-April to over 1.6 million over the course of two weeks.
With anxiety on the rise during a time of global crisis – two-thirds of people in the UK feel anxious about the COVID-19 outbreak – the group’s rising popularity speaks to a desire for escapism through online worlds. And while escapism of any sort is helping people to distance themselves from an unpleasant reality, the ant group is part of a wider expanse of online refuges that are strangely attuned to corona-related anxieties. As the world outside becomes uninhabitable, Minecraft’s Build The Earth project has enlisted players to rebuild the world on a 1:1 scale within the game, replicating man-made and natural structures from railroads to national landmarks.
The ant colony isn’t concerned with rebuilding physical structures as much as rebuilding a decimated sense of community. In the context of divergent nationalist interests that are hampering global health, the fictional colony is allowing people to experience collective work towards a shared goal – something that people feel is in short supply among world leaders.
Mira Kopolovic is a Senior Social Scientist at Canvas8. She has a Master’s degree that focused on visual culture and artist-brand collaborations, and spends her spare time poring over dystopian literature.
