Social Media during social distancing - good or bad?

With the unfortunate events of people requiring social distancing, it has pushed more people into using social media. The question that has arisen from that is; is social media during social distancing a good or bad thing? 

Of course, there are plenty of people who think that social media is bad for you in general. The primary reason for that is because it stops you from getting out and about in the world, having the face to face contact. However, during the pandemic, that is something that we are advised against. 

Social Media and Social Distancing - How Do People Use Social Media?

To know if all of the platforms are doing us any good or not, we first need to understand how the consumers are using them. There are five main ways in which people are using social media during the lockdown:

• Connecting with people.
• Finding information.
• Escape and entertainment.
• Connecting with brands.
• Keeping up to date with current affairs.

Connecting

Knowing what people are doing when you cant meet them is a difficult task. Using social media platforms will allow you to keep your friends and family in the loop as to what you are doing, and it will also allow them to let you know what they are doing. Furthermore, you know that they are safe and if they need anything that you can provide for them. That can be especially useful if those people are a long distance away. If you feel like growing your audience while you are on lockdown, you can use services such as SMM World to help you gain a broader audience to show your stories or new found skills. 

Finding Information

While we are on the subject of newfound skills, there is a wealth of information that you can find on social media. You have the option to ask people questions to find the answer to your problems, look through communities for FAQs, or use "fix it yourself" sites so that you can save a little bit of money. Alternatively, you can learn completely new skills, such as playing musical instruments, learning to draw, or anything imaginable. 

Escape and Entertainment

One of the largest reasons that people use social media for is escape and entertainment from the mundane. Flicking through stories of your friends and learning new information can use up a lot of the spare time you have. While that is one of the things that people argue is bad, it is better than having nothing to do and getting too bored. Furthermore, if you find some new information or learn something new, it can be a real skill that you can transfer to the world after lockdown. 

Connecting With Brands

Companies are quick to realize the valuable source of marketing that social media can bring. That means that they will often give their followers some deals like money off or early bird offers. Keeping in touch with these companies will help you not only to save some money but also to see which of the businesses have real care and compassion for their end-users. That can be a two way street to helping people in the community and the industry. 

Keeping Up To Date

There has already been a plethora of information about the lockdown and regulations that we all need to follow. Unfortunately, they change quite often based on requirements at the time. Keeping up to date on those current affairs will help the communities in which we live and the whole world to get through the problems that we are facing. The issue that you may find here, though, is that some people like spreading false information. That can lead to more significant problems than we already have. Therefore, we need to be careful where we get our information from, or social media could be a bad thing. 

It is not difficult if you know what you are looking for, to find lots of wrong information being spread around on all of the platforms. Some of the moderators are better at weeding the bad info out than others. Some of them encourage conspiracy theories and false information to get more shares and coverage. So, as I have said, be careful which you follow.

Is Social Media Bad During Social Distancing?

Honestly, no, I think that it has actually turned out to be a positive way to keep up to date and in touch with your friends, family, and the news. I do think that there could be slightly less usage of it as the world returns to normal, and I think that it would be a good idea to actively try. However, I believe that, unfortunately, it could have opened a trapdoor into pulling people in and keeping them there. Use it to stay safe, but look out for the issues arising from it. 

Disclaimer: The views, suggestions and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Forbes India journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.