Status update: Still trapped at home, I don’t know what day it is anymore and my cat keeps giving me weird looks.
With people becoming stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of working from home during the pandemic, social media and technology have become increasingly more important as tools for communication and entertainment. While it is fun to scroll through the pages of likes and comments, this constant cycle of internet attention also poses a threat to one’s mental health while they are isolated with their own thoughts day in and day out.
On the other hand, these apps that were originally created for endless scrolling and entertainment are now being utilized as platforms for business and creation while many job fields face a period of redefinition.
Gabriella Gonzalez, a sophomore musical theatre major at Winthrop University, accumulated a following of 29,300 people on her Tik Tok @gabriellam.gonzalez while she was in quarantine. She continues to use this app as a performance outlet as the conventional world of live theatre is still heavily restricted. This platform has exposed her to countless opportunities within the world of musical theatre that she never expected this early in her career. One such opportunity came in the form of an invitation from Tyler Capa, a well known music director who she said she has “obsessed over…for so long,” to perform at a concert at a popular cabaret club in New York.
Gonzalez said that “you don’t think about the connections that you can make over social media,” but now that these platforms are one of the most accessible forms of communication while we are all in isolation, it is becoming increasingly apparent the number of opportunities that you can find through social media.
As a senior journalism major at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Madeline Pennington looked to social media as a window to what she called the “world outside quarantine” this summer. Beyond personal connections and opportunities, this world on the internet allows for a flourishing of movements and ideas that can spread in minutes.
Pennington worked as an intern at a social media company this summer and was exposed to an influx in content on the internet. She said this job helped her realize the “importance of social media in helping people share stories and use their voices” in many different ways.
While many of these stories help to lift the spirits of readers, not all of them are positive. According to The Daily Tar Heel, UNC-Chapel Hill recently made the decision to transition all classes online and move as many students out of residence halls as possible on Aug. 18 after a week of hybrid classes and 4 COVID “hotspots” appearing within residence halls, apartments and fraternity houses.
As a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, Pennington said she has witnessed “a culture of self-policing and distrust among students” on social media, as concerned students battle with an administration that they feel is not doing enough in regards to safety on campus. She mentioned an Instagram account called @whereyallgoin_unc that was recently created, accepting submissions of people breaking social distancing regulations around campus.
The speed at which someone’s post on social media can go viral or raise awareness is a keen example of a double-edged sword. In one manner, this rapid spread of information helps to inform the public and make individual voices heard. On the other hand, this power can quickly become dangerous if someone uses it maliciously.
It is a lesson that this generation of young adults seems to have had drilled into our heads, but it becomes much harder to ignore when you yourself may become a victim of any form of cyberbullying. Some may believe that these students being displayed on accounts like these are ignoring their personal responsibility and deserve this form of public shaming, but it also brings up the question how far is too far?
As a creator with a considerably large following, Gonzalez knows this danger personally. She said that “it can be hard to put yourself out there because so many people are just nasty and rude” and when you are stuck at home with just your phone and your own thoughts it can sometimes be even harder to brush those sorts of comments off. She said that she tries to ask herself “am I posting this because I want to or am I posting it because I feel like I have to keep up this image?” She often finds herself taking week-long breaks “to make sure that [I am] doing this for [myself] and not just for other people.”
During this period of uncertainty and seemingly endless isolation, social media provides everyone the opportunity to see and care for others. However, in the end, everyone is responsible for not only what content they create, but also what media they consume. Gonzalez said it is important to “remind yourself that, yes, social media is awesome and it is a great way to connect with other people, but… we have to take care of ourselves first. Period.”
Graphic by Lizzy Talbert
