Humans are a social species; social connection is at the core of everything we do and is central to our mental wellbeing. In the midst of a post Covid-19 world, where each individual is responsible for enacting appropriate measures for social distancing, social media plays a vital role in allowing members of society to stay connected, regardless of location, health or age. Although physical socialisation has become challenging, over the past few months society has quickly adapted to new mechanisms of interaction, with social media at the core of many of our relationships.
Social media acts as the perfect antidote to our current climate, providing society with a ‘new’ normal, allowing us to see our family and friends, and even our work colleagues, engaging in online conversations enabling collective processing of stressful and unsure circumstances. Amongst the social media platforms enabling users to maintain meaningful relationships is ‘Zoom,’ home to college lectures, family quizzes and even modern dating. The organisation has seen its usership increase from 10 million users in December 2019, to over 300 million users today. Other social media platforms, such as TikTok, have served to inspire users to become creative in their own homes, seeing many individuals take part in viral challenges, home renovations and new hobbies, in a bid to find new ways to stay occupied.
Essentially, social media allows users to find a common ground, enabling interactions with people of similar mindsets, and the sharing of everyday life, however exciting or mundane it might be. Alongside the ability to share personal experiences, social media has proven itself to be an important tool for sharing information during Covid-19. News sources and businesses alike have adapted their offerings to meet the needs of social media users, providing news snippets and organisational updates on various platforms. Politicians have also adopted this approach, sharing regular political updates online.
Despite its many positive implications, the negative effects of social media have also become increasingly clear during the ongoing pandemic. The growing amount of information shared online has inevitably resulted in both information overloading and an influx of ‘fake news.’ Users are exposed to social media content during every moment of the day, so it is important now more than ever, to be mindful of media consumption, limiting the number of negative articles consumed and eliminating news sources that are not legitimate.
This seems easier said than done. In a bid to become mindful on social media, try to use networking sites with intention, as opposed to checking sites subconsciously. To avoid unwanted content, it might be good to consider unfollowing accounts that share information that you don’t enjoy or blocking relevant keywords from appearing on your social media feeds. Remember, social media is not always an accurate depiction of real life. For up-to-date factual news, always consume trusted news sources.
First published in Strategic Magazine.
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