The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we interact as a society. The rollout of several vaccines promises a return to a more normal life, but the way we use social media has changed forever. Bennet Schwartz Sydney creative explains his own life has changed along with his use of the internet. The effects of social distancing and self-isolation have led to a reliance on the internet for social interaction, work, and education. Bennet Schwartz feels the changes in social media use are important to understand for businesses and creatives.
The Effects of the Pandemic on Mental Health
Prolonged periods of isolation and stress have become the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic. WARC reports the arrival of the pandemic caused problems for people from all generations. Young people, aged 18 to 24, have been badly affected by stress during the pandemic. 70 percent of 18-24 year-olds reported feeling more stress during the pandemic as fear and isolation took their toll on Generation Z.
Young people turned to social media to try and relieve their stress and feelings of isolation. The use of social media by members of Generation Z reveals a lot about how their use can be different for each user. The WARC study showed almost 70 percent of young people felt social media was a way of staying connected with friends and family during the lockdown. Boredom during COVID-19 restrictions was a problem for 66 percent of those in the study, with social media providing a distraction from the long hours in isolation. The positivity surrounding social media was not all-consuming, with almost 40-percent of users feeling they had to stay busy because of the pressure of living up to a social media image.
Moving Away From Mobile Use
The rise of the Smartphone has been changing the way social media companies have been creating their platforms. Bennet Schwartz Sydney entrepreneur has seen a personal change in the way he uses social media. Spending more time at home has encouraged Schwartz to put down his Smartphone and move to a desktop computer when he checks in on social media.
Social media developers have been following the trend for Smartphone access to apps. The rise of the at-home worker during the pandemic has encouraged a shift towards using desktops and laptops with social media sites accessed while working. The change towards accessing social media from desktop sites will be addressed by developers in the future.
Obscure Apps Take Centerstage
What does social media mean to you? For most people, social media encompasses the four major platforms. Bennet Schwartz reports the rise of obscure apps has been a sign of the change in social media use. The New York Times reports the first month of lockdown in the U.S. signaled a 27-percent increase in the use of Facebook.
Equally impressive was the rise of smaller social media platforms, such as TikTok, during the first months of the pandemic. TikTok reported more than 12 million downloads in the U.S. alone, as its global footprint grew unexpectedly. Before the pandemic, TikTok had been a social media platform marketed to young people in Generation Z and below before the platform became popular with all age groups.
Bennet Schwartz is among those who have seen their business and educational requirements pushed online during the pandemic. Among the apps that have seen an increase in use was Google Classroom, with homeschooling pushing the app to double its traffic during the lockdown.
Video Chats and Messaging
The feeling of isolation felt by most people during the lockdown led to the rise of video meeting rooms and video calling services. Facebook has headed the social media use of video chats through its Messenger service, which uses video to allow a greater level of interaction. Google has seen an increase in the use of its messaging and video chat services, with the Meet and Hangout platforms seeing a higher level of daily use.
One app receiving a boost in usage figures was Zoom. The video meeting app reported less than two-million daily sessions in February 2020, jumping to almost seven-million by April. Several large companies have reported they will not return to office locations because of the ease of contact with employees via video meeting apps. Social media has changed the culture of the office forever during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Posting Times Have Changed
Bennet Schwartz Sydney entrepreneur is media-savvy and tracks the best times to post to social media platforms. Classy reports tracking the times when traffic was moving through social media sites have shown the pandemic has changed social media usage. Before the pandemic, the best time to post was Wednesday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. This time has changed to 10 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
The COVID-19 pandemic posed several challenges to the majority of people in our society. Bennet Schwartz feels social media platforms have begun to play a larger role in our lives and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
