The Effects Social Media has on a Global Pandemic Lock Down
Jerome Micallef — 06|06|2020
“This blog is a project for Study Unit DGA3008, University of Malta.”
It comes as no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a sudden halt since early this year. As this was an event that came on suddenly and spread globally with unprecedented velocity, many countries and organisations were caught unprepared to deal with this devastating disease — many of which are still suffering the consequences till this very day.
The high mortality rate and speed of the recent outbreak drove the health systems of all countries into a frenzy to try and contain as much as possible the spread of contagion forcing many citizens to remain indoors. Notwithstanding all drastic measures imposed by the states to remain in isolation and reduce contact, the exponential rate of death cases in the first months due to this virus was dramatically high. The sudden spike in number of new cases on a daily basis put such strain and overload on the national health scheme of most countries to point that in some, their health systems could not cope with the unprecedented influx and collapsed altogether. After the devastating first wave, the pandemic seems to have started stabilising over the recent past weeks and the world gradually getting back to its feet as measures start being lifted slowly with the number of cases on the decrease.
However, and until just recently, mandatory quarantine and restricted contact was imposed by many states as part of strategy to limit the spread. Schools, colleges, universities, gyms, restaurants and bars as well as most offices where forced to close doors as a temporary and partial lockdown came into effect. Most workers were asked to stay home as economy took a sudden plunge whilst a number of these were also laid off permanently as businesses had to close down. Citizens were being encouraged not to leave their homes unless for emergency situations and to purchase food or medicines. Mandatory social distancing and limits on group numbers also came into force to reduce possible spread. The world of sports also felt the pinch as all disciplines worldwide were put on hold too with leagues across the globe unsure whether the season would continue or be concluded void. So how did people cope with such a situation during this stressful time?
The answer was through social media. As more and more people around the world remained indoors, communication and all life in general became highly dependent on social media. But how did this help exactly in such a stressful period of time?
Apart from being one of the primary platforms that allowed people to remain in contact with friends or relatives anywhere around the globe via chat or video call, Facebook also played an important role during such a time in another way. Mark Zuckerberg, owner and founder of Facebook, teamed up with partners to help stop misinformation that surrounded the case. On top of that, Facebook created a ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Center’. This is a hub in which users could find all the latest updates and tips from global and local health organisations. This function prioritised Facebook’s newsfeed to shine a light on more credible sources such as the WHO organisation to stop misinformation and fight fake news to the audience who everyday turned to social media for news breaking updates.
Instagram , which is my personal favourite app, also played a significant part in its own ways. Just like Facebook, it took measures to stop misinformation by displaying trustworthy news and information only from credible sources on users’ walls. However, apart from that, the platform also released ‘Stay at Home’ stickers (amongst many other things) for users to use when uploading their stories. Since Instagram is widely preferred by influencers, this approach saw influencers start a trend and help promote and encourage their audiences to stay indoors and refrain from public spaces.
Youtube
The famous platform also played its fair share in this situation. Just as with the previous applications, Youtube did its utmost to present to the users credible and legitimate news sources by appearing first on search results for coronavirus. A lot was also done by the company to remove content that spread fake news or ads or videos of people suggesting home cure remedies “rather than seek medical assistance.” However, on top of that, Youtube came up with a brilliant global campaign. To reduce as much as possible boredom and encourage the idea of staying indoors, the platform promoted a ‘Stay Home #WithMe’ campaign. Users were asked to share and showcase their skills or hobbies to viewers around the world. These could be anything from cooking sessions to makeup tutorials. People uploading to the platform simply had to use the hashtag for a chance to get chosen and featured on Youtube’s homepage. Apart from distracting the people by keeping them occupied during these trying times, this campaign worked so well that Youtube saw a massive growth of 600%.
This campaign is a perfect example to show how strong social media can be. Others (apart from the aforementioned) have also followed suit such as WhatsApp, Snapchat and TikTok who are amongst the many to have created some form of campaign preserving the idea of community in a time when told to remain in isolation from one another. Times like these have shown how progressive, improvisational and strong certain social media brands and platforms can be by bringing communities together through the values of love, support and empathy.
References
Alexander, J. (2020, March 27). “With me” videos on youtube are seeing huge spikes in viewership as people stay home. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/27/21197642/youtube-with-me-style-videos-views-coronavirus-cook-workout-study-home-beauty
Altenhenne, M. (2020, April 15). Facebook joins social media fight against COVID-19. Deutsche Welle. https://www.dw.com/en/facebook-joins-social-media-fight-against-covid-19/av-52961714
COVID-19 Announcement | Instagram | Official Blog. (2020, March 24). About.Instagram.Com. https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/coronavirus-keeping-people-safe-informed-and-supported-on-instagram
Hutchinson, A. (2020, April 9). Instagram Launches New “I Stay Home For” Sticker to Promote COVID-19 Containment Efforts. Social Media Today. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-launches-new-i-stay-home-for-sticker-to-promote-covid-19-contai/575758/
Reitere, S. (2020, April 3). Platforms from Facebook to TikTok are helping during the coronavirus. Socialbakers.Com. https://www.socialbakers.com/blog/social-media-platforms-during-coronavirus
