The Role of Social Media during the Covid-19 Pandemic

HOW INDVIDUALS USE SOCIAL MEDIA

Broadly, individuals use social media either as a means of self promotion, hungry for the narcissistic self-exposure we crave, or to connect with friends, family and likeminded others for socialization and emotional support. 

HOW COMPANIES USE SOCIAL MEDIA

Similar to the use of social media by individuals, companies also use social media in one of two ways. They either use it for commercial purposes (to brand, sell and market their business) or for communal purposes (to engage, connect and co-create with their customers).

SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE PANDEMIC
During the pandemic, social media has become an extremely powerful tool to connect and engage with not only friends and family, but also with people from all around the world. Social media gives us the power to positively impact the lives of hundreds of millions of people all while sitting at home. Here are some of the ways social media has helped us during the pandemic:

1. HELPS BUILD  A SENSE OF COMMUNITY

During lockdown, the quarantine imposed on us made many feel lonely and isolated. Social media has not only provided us with a platform for socialization and emotional support, but has also enabled us to connect with likeminded individuals and even get to know people living close to us better.

2. HELPS CONNECT WITH OUR LOVED ONES

Even before the inception of the pandemic, Social Media platforms made it extremely easy to connect with friends and family from far away. With the entire world in a global lockdown, social media sites made it easier to converse with our loved ones, no matter the distance. This greatly helped alleviate the emotional burden we've all felt during the pandemic.

3. HELPS BRING LIGHT TO IMPORTANT  ISSUES AND NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

In this golden age of technology and information, social media has made it easier than ever to share information about issues and news from around the world. Not only does this make us better and more informed citizens, it also enable us to donate to or help certain causes that do not directly impact us. It helps us create a global community where everybody comes together and unites to create a better world. It is also important to remember that while social media is a great source of information, it is not always a reliable one. As a general rule, it is advised to check the information you find on social media with at least two other reliable sours such as government-run websites or high-quality news sources. Fake news and biased opinions passed on as actual data is a common sight on social media sites these days, and we must be careful of the same.

4. HELPS INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES BUILD A GLOBAL AUDIENCE

In addition to all the above stated advantages, one of the greatest benefits social media has given us during Covid-19 is that it helps creators and companies build a global audience. With a huge percentage of the world's population spending hours of their time on social media sites, marketers have found great value in promoting their products and services through these sites. Personalized advertisements and cookies also help the right advertisements reach the right people who are actually interested in a certain type of product or service, thus increasing their reach and sales.

5. ENTERTAINMENT

Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, we have all had a lot of unprecedented free time on our hands. Whether it was because of the unemployment, the requirement of the job itself or just for emotional and social support, we've all increased our screen times this year. Locked inside our houses with no other means of entertainment, using Social Media sites as a method of escapism has been extremely common. While it is important to take some down-time and keep ourselves entertained, we must also be careful and judicious with the time we spend on social media sites.

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