The global pandemic of COVID-19 is forcing everyone to stay home for a long period of time. People fear for their own lives, their parents’ lives, their grandparents’ lives. We’re living through a time of isolation and fear. Other than with the people we live with, we have all been required to give up face-to-face interactions. 

COVID-19 is causing social media to face a change it’s never seen before. People are now turning to text messages, tweets, livestreams or whatever platform they choose to communicate with others. We’ve now seen a huge increase in people’s social media presences since people have no other option.

As a typical advocate for decreasing social media use, it is rare to hear me say that social media is helpful for communication. I value face-to-face communication much more than I value a text; however, we need to work with what we can get. For Fordham students, almost all of us are home now. Going from seeing our friends every single day to not seeing them again for several months is a tough transition. The only way I’ve spoken to my friends is through social media.

While social media use, in general, has likely increased for everyone, there’s an important distinction within social media between private and public forms of media. Sending a text message or scheduling a closed Zoom call with close friends can be very different from posting on Instagram or sending out a tweet. Private social media is currently the only sense of direct communication we have with the outside world. Instead of scheduling lunch plans with a friend, we can now make Netflix Party plans or Zoom happy hour plans. 

I believe that taking advantage of private social media connections as much as we can will help us through this COVID-19 crisis. Public social media can still be a good thing, too, as long as we actively consume this type of media and limit its use when necessary.

We cannot ignore that social media can be extremely damaging to mental health. There is no doubt that it can increase anxiety, comparisons and jealousy, as well as decrease productivity. For people who face these issues, private social media like texts, calls and video calls are essential to maintaining healthy connections with people who make them happy. Instead of spending hours scrolling through Instagram stories, choose to actively call a friend you miss. Additionally, taking actions like muting or unfollowing people who make you feel jealousy or discomfort can help make your public social media use more effective.

The sphere of public social media has seen many changes in recent weeks. People are more open than ever. I’ve seen push-up challenges, “quarantunes,” prompts to post pictures of your pets and many other invitations for one another to share something that makes people feel better. These can make people happier, sure, but some people may find these tiring to scroll through. Turning off notifications can help prevent that feeling that you need to see every single thing posted that day. Being smart about when to consume digital content and when to step away is essential right now, and hopefully, we can all learn how this works best for us.

Actively consuming social media alongside activities that typically make us happy can also turn it into a more positive experience. Do you like to bake? Great! Follow a bunch of accounts that post fun baking recipes. Do you play guitar? Follow accounts that post themselves playing the guitar. Ensure that the media you consume caters to what makes you happy, and remove everything else.

There is a great sense of unity on social media right now. Typically, there are conventions of social media that only allow people to post about their highs and accomplishments. The problem that many people, including myself, have with these conventions is that profiles become highlight reels. We only see the happiest moments of peoples’ lives, and the worst moments are left out. But now, people are more willing to say that they’re struggling. 

Everyone is experiencing the same isolation right now. We all have to stay home, even when the weather is getting warmer and the stir-craziness is getting intense. It can be comforting to see people break conventions of social media and admit they’re having a hard time. 

For me, spring is my favorite time of year at Fordham — Spring Weekend, laying on Eddie’s with my friends, enjoying the warmth and the company. Without that, it can be hard to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Social media, though, has become a way that we can all show that we’re facing this pandemic together. 

For the people suffering from depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions, my heart goes out to you during this time. While active social media use won’t be able to solve these conditions, I believe that the best way to stay positive right now is to utilize social media properly. Use it in a way that makes you feel connected to the people you love, not isolated from the world. Mute or unfollow content that makes you feel alone. Follow accounts that make you laugh, smile and feel hopeful. I know that times are tough right now, but this will end, and I can’t wait for us all to celebrate together when it has passed.

Jillian Kenny, FCRH ’21, is an international studies and environmental studies major from Bridgewater, N.J.