“Do we really need SDAs?” Social distancing ambassador meme elicits sarcasm online

A meme on Social Distancing Ambassadors (SDAs) seems to be sparking sarcastic comments from netizens. Some of them say deploying SDAs isn’t doing much to curb the spread of Covid-19.

A screengrab of a scene from Singaporean 128 Circles, a TV series revolving around the lives of hawkers, was shared on SGAG’s Facebook page on Tuesday (March 22). Over the shot featuring a man directing a laser stare at another man donning a facemask, was a make-believe dialogue.

The man with the mask is depicted as asking “Why (do) you keep looking at me?”, the man with the death stare offers this answer: “I’m practising to be (an) SDA, bro.”

Many found it comical, but the meme has definitely drawn a mixed response. While some enjoy  the humour of the meme, others zeroed in on a particular part of the post’s caption, which reads “In all seriousness, their job really is important”.

A handful of netizens disagreed with this statement,  citing the continuing large number of Covid-19 cases in the country.

While one netizen stated that though the job was important before, it no longer is, another questioned the difference between the number of Covid-19 cases before and after SDAs were deployed.

“Last time with SDAs, infections were in the hundreds…now with SDAs, (they’re) in the tens of thousands,” he wrote, before blatantly questioning “Do we really need SDAs?”

Another netizen also expressed frustration over how even with SDAs in place, “every day (there are) still so many cases”.

Still, at least one netizen insisted that if the job was done right, then yes, it is in fact, important.