Social Media and the Pandemic - Diya Joshi

COVID-19 changing our way of life is an understatement. Social distancing, wearing masks and virtually learning.

As a college student, COVID-19 has taken away half of the experience: the social component. With social distancing rules enforced and communicating virtually, it has become hard to maintain the nonacademic portion of life.

Regardless of our high expectations of college, it is still so important to know what we feel comfortable with in terms of COVID-19 and to be firm in that belief. Pandemic safety comes before having an unsafe but fun evening.

Social media plays a big role in this. We constantly see friends and family around one another in large groups that are over 10 with no masks over Instagram, Snapchat and even Facebook. This message can make it seem like it is okay to socialize with a group of people without the necessary precautions. People may do it with reason, such as they have all been quarantined, are within their period of 90 day immunity post virus or even that it is for a school club or event, which could prove to be acceptable. Oftentimes, however, it is not communicated through just a few pictures. It could be misunderstood as a large group of people hanging out, with no disclaimer of why it was okay.

Don't get me wrong, however. All social media is not bad in terms of the pandemic. Posts with friends and family including masks or social distancing can encourage viewers to wear masks in their daily lives when seeing other people safely!

Many doctors and scientists are taking greater interest on the impact of social media platforms during this time through various studies. “The main findings revealed that the use of social media platforms had a significant positive influence on public health protection against COVID-19 as a pandemic.” - Dr. Al Dm-our.

Seeing the two polarized ends to the pandemic, it is still important to be safe. If parties and large group gatherings do occur, it may be negatively impacting those that see it. It can create this amazing sense of normalcy and smiles but it also causes a sense of false safety for others. It is so vital that these posts refrain from being posted and if they are, they include a few key details as to why a gathering over 10 people without masks happened (fraternity, family, organization, etc.)

The most important thing is to realize that the pandemic is not over even though we may be tired of it. It is just as important to take the precautions we once did in March and use our social media to work towards prevention. Social media affects our response more than we could ever imagine and it is key to be aware of that and not let it influence our judgement.