Marked by the inclusion of masks in casual wear and an uneasy demand of hand sanitizer, the Covid-19 outbreak has us by our collar while we try to stay safe. Keeping the memes aside the situation is serious, if not devastating. As a precautionary measure, people are advised to avoid gatherings, wash hands, cover their coughs, and most importantly practice social distancing.
The objective of social distancing is to reduce the probability of infected people coming in contact with other people- especially in cases like Covid-19, where it is easily contagious via contact. But this protocol immensely affects our routine- be it our social activity, work or education. It can now get really stressful to manage these vital activities; it’s only a relief to find Social Media helping us to cope up with it.
Social Media, in its true essence, is a great tool to communicate- even more during a quarantine. It provides a medium of communication from the convenience (and safety) of your homes. It is a good platform to spread awareness, hold discussions and access education and consultations. What’s even better is that many platforms are taking initiatives to help social distancing. A few examples have been jotted down below:
- G Suite
In order to help businesses and schools to operate during the Covid-19 epidemic, Google has offered to provide free access to advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities to G Suite customers globally. This is a great initiative to help them stay connected, even in quarantine. This provision works through the first week of March up till July 1, 2020.
http://bit.ly/tweet-sundarpichai
Recently LinkedIn announced free courses that will be made available in lieu of the global epidemic. The courses include tips to stay productive, build relationships while working from home. It also provides tutorials for virtual meeting tools like Skype, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, etc.
Twitter has offered content to advise for effective communication between brands and their users during the epidemic. Even though health is the priority right now, the quarantine can severely affect businesses. Since now, most of their activities will be through digital media, they have provided with a few tips for effective brand communications.
https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/Brand-communications-in-time-of-crisis.html
Instagram is the new social media sensation- its reach is beyond comprehension. But it comes with its own powers and possible misuses. Hence Instagram has banned searches for Covid-19 AR effects, in lieu of the sensitivity of the condition. Also, they added New Information prompts in their Home feeds which link to the World Health Organization website. This is a remarkable step, even if a few people end up clicking on it.
Snap Source: Social Media Today
- Youtube
Youtube is using its homepage to direct users to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) so that they can get reliable updates. Today when we consume so much information on the internet, it is important to provide people with timely and reliable updates.
https://youtube-creators.googleblog.com/2020/03/coronavirus-update-on-creator-support.html
With social media platforms getting together to create a conducive environment for its users, it is for us to stay calm and make the most of our circumstances. An epidemic is a serious situation, and so is a quarantine, but we can only help ourselves and others if we don’t panic. Be empathetic to the situation and make the best out of your work, education and socializing from home!