How Social Media Use Fosters Post-Traumatic Growth During Crises
New research identifies useful online factors for effective crisis coping and guidance on how to use social media during COVID.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a prolonged, global disaster of epic proportions, unlike anything most people have experienced in their lifetimes.
Tolerating Ambiguity and Isolation
Unlike many disasters, which have a predictable course (see Phases of Disaster, below), pandemics don’t fit a clear mold, with no clear end date, high levels of uncertainty about whether there will be ongoing waves of reinfection, unclear paths toward normality, limited data on infection and mortality rates, evolving information about infectious consequences, unclear risk of immunity, and a high level of impact on social relations from infection-control measures.
The mental health impact of COVID-19 and the direct neuropsychiatric consequences of infection means that understanding factors contributing to post-traumatic growth and resilience are especially important.
