Author's Note
The article discusses the role of social media during a pandemic. People, especially the Youth, spend most of their time on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. I was surfing through Instagram and came across a post by Oreo India with a #AtHomeWithOreo activity for kids during the Lockdown. Immediately, a question intrigued me, "What would be the Role of Social Media during a Pandemic? ". The article is a product of my research on the question posed above.
Article
Social media has become a part of our life. From a seven-year-old child to an old aged person, most people use social media, such as Facebook and Instagram, irrespective of age, to socialize with their friend circle and build their social circle. Few platforms also serve as a medium to seek information and develop professional circles such as Twitter and LinkedIn. It would be interesting to look at how social media affects our daily habits and decisions in difficult times. As a coin has two sides, Social media has both advantages and disadvantages in a pandemic. I shall discuss them with adequate examples and case studies in this article.
Print media and news channels are of utmost help in times of a pandemic. Their efforts to present factual news to the public has to be highly appreciated. They publicize health notions during an epidemic so that even an uneducated would follow it. As rightly pointed by the Times of India article [5], the USA should be indebted to the aggressive media for bashing the Government over the insufficient number of N-95 masks and protective gear for the health-workers. This pressurized the authorities to take heroic steps in the building of Ventilators, procure enough face-masks and protective equipment for the health-workers. However, the media sometimes tend to have a political inclination (maybe due to oppressive circumstances or perhaps its objective - both of which should be condemned). This political inclination disrupts the right spirit to report the actual outbreaks amidst this epidemic, that compromises public health safety. This is probably the case with the Chinese media as per [5] and [11]. Is the number of deaths 3000, to date, reported in China due to COVID-19, or Is the Government through Censorship hiding the real statistics?
On the other hand, social media is a platform to express (supposedly healthy) thoughts freely without consent from the Government. Here is a case study from China [9]. With the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese Government, through state censorship, created an information vacuum on Coronavirus. The screenshots of the ophthalmologist, Li Wenliang's message, who first suspected and warned regarding the outbreak of SARS-like illness in Wuhan, went viral on Weibo (most prominent social media platform in China). The demands for free speech and transparency in the Government's efforts to regulate the spread of disease intensified on social media platforms. Thereby, posts regarding social distancing and self-quarantine flooded social media educating people to take steps to mitigate the condition.
During the 1918 Flu pandemic, which was caused by the H1V1 Virus, almost 50 million people died, one-third of the world's population. Due to a lack of instant communication platforms in those times, Boy scouts, Teachers, and Postal workers spread vital information among the masses about the pandemic. This mode of information spread has a meager diffusion rate. Information regarding necessary health precautions such as Social distancing, use of sanitizers, etc., was reaching the masses at a rate way slower than the exponential spread of the disease. However, In the current scenario of COVID-19, we are fortunate to have a well-advanced technology that binds the people of the world via the social web. This communication helps us to spread the right measures to follow in these difficult times and as a means to spread factual and false-proof information from the government agencies under the Right To Information act. Social media also provides a platform to support business advertisements for business people. That said, it does not mean social media is entirely foolproof, which we shall discuss in the further sections of the essay.
I shall present in detail, the role of social media during the situations of a pandemic, specifically COVID-19, [1] [2][3] [8] [9].
Social media acts as a Source of Information
Never in history, we had access to the real-time data, in a click, as we have now [3]. Analysts and scientists can have real-time information regarding the nature of the Virus and direct measures for us to be safe; meanwhile, they discover a vaccine. However, the real advantage of this information is that ordinary people could benefit from this information positively by taking measures as suggested by the world health organizations. It also helps them by providing information regarding how it affects their daily life cycle and the necessary actions to accustom themselves to the changes. For instance, in India, when Prime minister Narendra Modi announced the Lockdown in entire India as a measure to regulate the COVID spread, the majority of the citizens, especially the Youth, found it instantly from the social media (along with News media) such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
As a consequence, it spread awareness about social distancing and home quarantine (discussed in detail in the below point). It was thus making them prepared for the unforeseen Lockdown in an uncertain circumstance. It was possible due to the spread of information, in a snap, to an enormous crowd partly due to news channels and media and partly due to social media. The Government of India developed a mobile application known as the Arogya Setu app to give live updates regarding the Coronavirus situation in India. It also educates the citizens about the health norms to be followed to mitigate the spread of the disease. The Government used Social media platforms to popularize the app, mainly directed to the Youth.
That said, it does not necessarily mean social media is always instrumental in spreading positive information. At times, social media is notorious for the spread of false news and conspiracy theories that create tensions among the people [4]. One such rumor in recent times is that China created the Coronavirus in Wuhan labs as a bioweapon to seek superpower. This rumor did generate a wave of hatred towards China. Nevertheless, WHO ruled out this claim as baseless because the Virus does not seem to be a lab-made one. This news relieved the people, but there were tensions associated with the rumor for a brief period. This sort of Xenophobic reaction from social media is fueling a behavior that affects the lives of a few others. This scenario did exist during the 2003 SARS outbreaks and most likely seems to replicate the similar trends in the COVID-19 times. Here are two case studies to prove the point, a rumor, on WeChat, that a Chinese restaurant in Canada had a staff member with Coronavirus, had gone viral. The health officials of the state had to close that restaurant for not following the health norms, and the restaurant lost 80 percent of the revenue. Prejudice forms the basis for this rumor. In the North of Toronto, 8000 people compiled a petition to ban students from schools whose families have traveled to China recently.
Other misinformation like claims of medical remedies and baseless vaccination spread on social media. As a cure to COVID-19, Drinking syrups made of mint, saffron, and turmeric had gone viral on Twitter in Iran. These unproven traditional remedies seem to flood the social media as a cure to COVID-19 and Ebola.
As per studies, more than half the population of the USA has seen false news and information regarding Coronavirus. This sort of report will spread unnecessary stress among civilians. Given that social media authorities do not and cannot regulate every false news on the platform, we need to do our part by trusting and forwarding only those posts validated by reliable sources. Recently, celebrities in India are taking up the #matkarforward initiative to curb conspiracy theories, nonscientific remedies, which are pure superstition, prejudices, and false news over social media.
Negative Psychological Impacts
The spread of raw information on Social media is attracting unnecessary psychological stress among a few sections of people [4][10]. The news of Coronavirus's rapid spread coupled with economic pressures around the world, hinting at another world financial depression, is creating panic among the vulnerable users. Recent Vishakapattanam tragedy in the current COVID-19 scenario is viral on Indian social media platforms. It will affect vulnerable users negatively amidst the turmoil. But that said, this news on social media has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Influence on people's decisions and habits as a consequence of the pandemic
A majority of the population uses social media, and an individual is free to post their thoughts. In an event like the current COVID-19 situation, individuals, the Government, and business organizations are using social media to spread awareness among people. As per reports from Nielsen, In India, 22.3 million people shared COVID-19 related content on social media, by March 24. The #stay_home challenge is attracting people, thereby spreading awareness to follow social distancing and self-quarantine to avoid the spread of the Virus.
In India, when the Government announced Lockdown, people were worried about the groceries and basic amenities during the Lockdown. Ignorant of the ill effects associated with COVID-19 and the Lockdown benefits, few people even compared it to the concentration camps during the Nazi. Nervous as a consequence of the Lockdown, they started buying excess items and posting them on social media, termed as 'Panic buying.' Nonetheless, this fear was unnecessary. People were allowed to go outside as long as the purpose was to buy groceries and house items. #shame_panic_buying started trending as a reply to these people. As stated above, #matkarforward was an effort to curb false information on social media. Social media with these hashtags challenges is educating and spreading awareness among the public.
Social media as a marketing platform
Few businesses have used this opportunity to cash, by circulating false ads on commodities such as snake-oil products that claim to enhance immunity against Coronavirus. However, few companies have shown social responsibility by launching products and rendering services that are of use to the people in Lockdown times. Few of them include home delivery of groceries, food, and other commodities, free of cost, to the houses in the red zone areas. Social media serves as a primary platform to advertise regarding these products and services. To encourage people to stay at home and spend their time joyfully, Online streaming companies have reduced the charges. Few online coaching services have provided free online courses to encourage people to stay quarantined and spend their leisure time productively. All the advertisement for this goes on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. Recently, Oreo India has launched the #AtHomeWithOreo activity for children to spend their time creatively. They provide innovative ideas for kids to spend leisure time. They also share videos of creative activities by cute kids on their social media platforms. This way, they are not only spreading positivity and encouraging people to stay quarantined but also promoting their product through shared videos.
I want to grab this opportunity to share my experience. I found the information that the ICASSP, 2020 (45th International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing) offered free membership and was launching a free virtual conference due to COVID-19, through Twitter. It was a great way to spend my time learning in Lockdown, thanks to Twitter.
Positivity in difficult times
COVID-19 has not only generated health-related anxieties among people but also has proven to be times of economic instability due to extended periods of Lockdown [2]. Many people are going through tough times due to the loss of employment. Philanthropists, Celebrities, and Common people are coming together to help the affected people, and social media, has been a platform for many social events, such as fundraising events.
People also use this platform to render social services by delivering groceries to completely quarantined sections of society under the tag of the red zone. People are also helping small scale businesses whose income is directly affected by the circumstance, through social media.
On top of that, people are finding comfort in social media in this challenging phase [7]. They share their daily experiences, chat with their social circle, and play games on messenger. Youth also participate in social media challenges such as #SPENDING_TIME_WITH_FAMILY, #COOKING_IN _QUARANTINE, etc., thereby spreading positivity and a sense of unitedness under challenging times.
Concluding, Social media has advantages such as the spread of information and health measures among people instantly, serves as a platform for businesses, and enhances the positive spirit of oneness and connectedness in an epidemic. Nonetheless, false information, conspiracy theories, and unproven medical remedies continue to haunt social media during a pandemic. We have to be careful before trusting the news by validating its authenticity from trusted sources. I want to end by quoting what my mom says about social media that, Social media is a boon for people who use it effectively and within limits, we have to take the news on social media with a pinch of salt.
References
Hussain, Wajahat. (2020). Role of Social Media in COVID-19 Pandemic. The International Journal of Frontier Sciences. 4. 10.37978/tijfs.v4i2.144.
(Khoros has reputed software company in Austin, USA)
Chan, A. K. M., et al. "Social media for rapid knowledge dissemination: early experience from the COVID‐19 pandemic." (2020).
Dupoux, Anneliese, et al. "The pandemic of social media panic travels faster than the COVID-19 outbreak." Journal of Travel Medicine (2020).
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/1918-pandemic-history.htm
https://www.neuro-central.com/covid-19-impact-coronavirus-pandemic-mental-health-can/