The Impact of Covid on the Future of Social Media
Introduction:
The covid 19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on people around the world. The way we live, the way we work, the way we communicate, the way we travel; everything has changed. The world has turned upside down. While most industries struggled to sustain themselves due to the pandemic, the media and entertainment industry soared high with huge profits.
Social media is a means for people to create, share or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities. Gone are the days when we had to scroll through print and broadcast media to get global updates; when we had to wait for weeks to hear back from our loved ones by postcards and letters. Today all these facilities are readily available at our fingertips. Social media has brought the ultimate level of convenience and efficiency in terms of information transfer and broadcast. Social media wasn’t as prevalent as it was a couple of decades back. Advancements in technology have brought the world closer and made it extremely easy to share our thoughts and opinions within seconds. Today people look up to social media instead of news channels to get access to news and developments.
Incredible growth during the lockdown:
In April, social media users reached a whopping 3.8 billion mark!
There has been an 8% increase in social media users, and 47% of the users claim to spend more time on social media during the lockdown. Forced to stay indoors, people across the country turned to digital screens to maintain their relationships and access entertainment to find humor and distraction from the pandemic via relatable memes. A time of social distance and limited contact with others made social media an important place to interact.
Facebook has topped the charts of popularity as of April 2020, with a 4% growth since the beginning of world lockdowns. Instagram has reported around 4.5% growth since January 2020. Snapchat has also seen its audience grow by more than 4.2% during this time. Twitter has seen an astounding growth of 14% of more than 40 million advertising audiences since January 2020 alone. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have doubled their growth and activity in comparison to 2019. YouTube is one of the most popular applications during the coronavirus pandemic. The number of people creating and uploading videos during this lockdown period has increased by 10%.
The future of social media?
It is interesting to know what the future of social media in the post-pandemic times would look like. The covid-19 pandemic proved to be an infodemic. Easy access to the internet and social media left users susceptible to rumors. One must always verify the truthfulness of the information they consume or share on social media.
The demand for digital marketing, graphic design, content design, website designing and maintenance, cyber security, and similar skills will increase due to the social media presence of new products, services, and businesses. OTT platforms increased their subscriber base immensely as the cinema halls were closed down. Short films and web series will become the new normal of the ever-growing film industry.
Forced lifestyle changes and overuse of social media have put a strain on mental health for many people. Online counseling services gained popularity, as they could safely connect mental health workers with those who need them.
Conclusion:
With millions of added users, social media platforms will grow in the post-pandemic time. Due to their easy accessibility, it will be a rat race for online attention and visibility. Mental health issues are bound to increase because people are easily affected by the virtual aspects that other people portray. Cyber security and privacy will be the main aspects of social media. With more problems, there will be more solutions. And we need to be hopeful that whatever the future holds for social media, it’s for the good of humankind.