Introduction
Coronavirus, commonly referred to as COVID-19, is a global pandemic that has affected most nations. The virus is similar to the regular flu but presents severe symptoms and detrimental health outcomes. The occurrence of the epidemic has contributed to significant changes across the globe. There have been policy changes in most countries, such as introducing curfews, reduced social interactions, and the closure of learning institutions. As a result, people have engaged on social media platforms because physical, social interactions are limited. Therefore, social media platforms have become more useful to individuals since they can socially interact on digital platforms. The social media platforms provide the space to share information, without any prior verification of its authenticity. People have gained more confidence in using these media platforms with the thoughts that they help uncover stories of Coronavirus. Therefore, many people believe in what they learn about through the social media platforms. Coronavirus affects every aspect of our lives, and this is seeable and knowable. However, there may be no one around to catch the virus, and the virus is invisible, so some people may not pay so much attention to it. So people still do not know unseen enough about the virus. Most people get a partial understanding of Covid-19 through social media.
Coronavirus pandemic
Background
COVID-!9 is identified as an illness caused by a coronavirus and has severe acute respiratory syndromes. The virus was first identified in an outbreak of respiratory diseases in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, in China. The first case reported on the World Health Organization was stated on December 31, 2019. The virus had spread rapidly, and by January 30, 2020, the WHO declared the Covid-19 outbreak a global health emergency. However, the spread of the virus was still increasing, and it had spread across multiple countries by March 11, 2020, when WHO declared the virus as a global pandemic, requiring states to determine ways to prevent its spread. Covid-19 is the first health issue to be declared a global epidemic since 2009 when H1N1 influenza was a pandemic illness.
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Since the condition was announced as a global pandemic, most countries-initiated measures to lock down the nation. Similarly, these countries adopted policies to help reduce the social interactivity of people. Other nations also ensured the learning centers were closed down, which meant that fewer social activities occurred. However, people became reliant on the social media platforms for information. These platforms, despite providing unverified news, have contributed to much knowledge about coronavirus, its spread, and how people are coping with the same.
Knowledge has been gathered through social media, whereby the concepts of seeing is believing are applicable. The social media platforms provide the people an opportunity to visualize what happens within the globe. The social media has become the most trusted platform across the globe. This is because it reveals and uncovers any hidden information, thereby allowing people to understand information from different platforms. Through videos posted on the internet, and photographs that depict information about the public is helpful to inform other people.
Developments in the case
Covid-19 is associated with a variety of common symptoms. Some of the symptoms are inclusive of dry cough, tiredness, and fever. However, the condition’s less common symptoms include sore throat, conjunctivitis, headache, diarrhea, aches, and pains. The cases develop over 14 days, after which individuals can recover without any intervention. The social media sites had massive impact in spreading this information, and contributed to high speculations about the disease. For instance, these media platforms contributed to increased anxiety among individuals by providing the death count in most countries, thereby contributing to fear among the people.
Impact of social media
Since March 2020, social interactions were highly reduced since people were informed about embracing social distancing and remaining at home. Additionally, most countries implemented lockdown measures such that people were not allowed to move out of their homes. Jobs were lost, and other people opted to work from home. Such measures meant that people have become more reliant on social media platforms, the channels to communicate, hold meetings, and continue with their social engagements.
Statistics from statista.com reveal the upsurge in social media usage over the recent years, indicating that 2020 has had a spike in the number of users. Figure one below illustrates the identified social media use increases from 2017, and the expected rise in the next five years. The figure’s data presents information to ascertain that social media platforms are becoming more common for people.
The rise in social media usage has been perpetuated for a variety of reasons. The need to have social interactions, engage in online classes, and engage in activities that promote self-learning are some of these reasons. Most students have become accustomed to using social media platforms to associate and interact with their classmates, teachers, and relatives worldwide. Businesses have adopted similar approaches in need for social connection among the employees in their homes since most workers were allowed to work remotely. Such reasons have thus caused the upsurge in social media usage during the covid-19 pandemic era. The use of social media platforms across the globe during the coronavirus pandemic has presented a myriad of benefits and demerits for the people as follows:
Benefits of using social media platforms for data and news
Social media platforms have contributed to delivering data and communication to people about coronavirus. Social platforms have helped people share more information about the covid-19 pandemic, its general nature in other countries, and how people cope. Arguably, these media platforms have assured people about the epidemic, thereby helping them remain knowledgeable over time. Most bloggers and content creators have utilized social media platforms to extend knowledge about Covid-19 and its developments worldwide. This is exemplified by research done by Manovich that stipulates the importance of blogging as part of the software industry 1 The whole world is more informed about the virus, its consequences, proceedings on vaccine testing, and general health and protection strategies through their information.
The social media platforms have further contributed to creating awareness about possible measures for people to prevent the healthcare issue. Research reveals that social media platforms integrated techniques to showcase banners and other visual elements to people about possible ways to reduce the spread of Covid-19 2 . Similarly, these platforms have defined strategies to understand people by asking them about their health condition and the virus’s state in their regions. Such techniques have contributed to curbing the spread of Covid-19 across the globe.
Communication has also been enhanced through social media platforms. Research has shown that there is an upsurge in the number of users for social media platforms. This illustrates the rise in selecting these media channels for communication with people across the globe. The venues are chosen during the Covid-19 pandemic because the reduced physical interactions require social media platforms for communication. As a result, sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Zoom, and Skype have become more reliable in sustaining communication among different individuals. Once individuals interact on social media, they gather more data about Covid-19 and how it affects people in other regions. Therefore, the systems have helped improve awareness of the health issue and assisted in reducing its spread.
Evidence from readings in class also supports these notions. Studies by Aberevealed that interactive media is a useful tool for gathering data, referred to as a policing tool. The reading argues that news broadcasts and newspaper articles can be presented using these platforms, which improve the number of people reached by the news 3 . High traffic into the social networking and interactive media sties means that more people are dependent on the online media to gather data.
Demerits of using social media platforms for data and news
Despite the many benefits presented by the increased use of social media during the Covid-19, various demerits are present. One of them is that it is the major contributor to reminding people about the coronavirus pandemic. In recent months, the coronavirus cases have taken much of the news time on the internet and the television screens. The social media platforms add to this issue by continually reminding people about coronavirus issues and pandemic developments. Most people utilize these platforms to engage in social activities and evade the reality of the pandemic. However, social media have become a constant reminder of the epidemic, thereby influencing how people behave and interact mostly with social platforms. This demerit impairs how people associate and contributes to the rise in anxiety among individuals.
Another demerit of the social media platforms is that they provide advertisements that target the audience such that they provide information on ways to prevent the spread of the condition. Videos showing surfaces where the covid-19 virus can be found and how people cannot face the stipulated regulations remind the audience of ways the situation occurs. Such issues contribute to high anxiety among people using social media platforms, thereby raising concerns over ways to associate with people on physical instances.
Conclusion
The effects of coronavirus are evident in people’s life. Most people understand the condition through increased interaction on social media platforms, increasing their anxiety about the situation while raising awareness about ways to prevent being affected by the virus. Since March 2020, most people have been isolated in their home setting, interacting only with immediate relatives. Many nations embarked on strategies to prevent coronavirus spread by implementing lockdown measures and ensuring social distancing. This was ascertained, especially with people having to work from home and students engaging in online learning. Such challenges led to an increased reliance on social media platforms for communication and social interactions. These platforms are useful since they are cheap to use and can connect people despite their regional differences. Through social media, people learn about preventing the coronavirus spread, primarily by information posted on these platforms. As a result, individuals have gained more anxiety and fear about the condition, leading to unprecedented outcomes. Therefore, social media platforms have positively contributed to increased knowledge about covid-19 and its spread.
Bibliography
Abe, Kiyoshi. "The myth of media interactivity: Technology, communications and surveillance in Japan." Theory, Culture & Society 26, no. 2-3 (2009): 73-88.
Manovich, Lev. Software takes command. Vol. 5. A&C Black, 2013.
Nabity-Grover, Teagen, Christy MK Cheung, and Jason Bennett Thatcher. "Inside out and outside in: How the COVID-19 pandemic affects self-disclosure on social media." International Journal of Information Management 55 (2020): 102188. Obtained https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7320916/
1 Manovich, Lev. Software takes command. Vol. 5. A&C Black, 2013.
2 Nabity-Grover, Teagen, Christy MK Cheung, and Jason Bennett Thatcher. "Inside out and outside in: How the COVID-19 pandemic affects self-disclosure on social media." International Journal of Information Management 55 (2020): 102188.
3 Abe, Kiyoshi. "The myth of media interactivity: Technology, communications and surveillance in Japan." Theory, Culture & Society 26, no. 2-3 (2009): 73-88.
