As the world struggles in the fight against Coronavirus, more than a third of its population is on lockdown and millions of people are stuck in their houses. With no place to go, people have turned to social media for comfort during this trying time. A school of Arts and Sciences, Cameron Foster, published a report on how the Coronavirus pandemic has increased social media usage over the past few months. Note that Cameron Foster published the report but the stats were obtained from several reliable media houses.
With more people at home, the daily accumulation of engagement on influencer ads on social media has increased by 76% globally. At the same time, TikTok, a social media app used primarily for making videos, posted a 27% surge in engagement during the first two weeks of last month. This isn’t a surprise since people on Twitter have been posting several video challenges during the lockdown and most of them depend on TikTok to make these videos. As TikTok engagement increased, Facebook also recorded a 27% increase in engagement as YouTube engagement increased by 15.3%.
Before the Coronavirus started there was a growing trend of social media addiction. The lockdown caused by the virus has only made things worse. The number of hours people spend on social media and the number of people who use media daily has increased by almost 62% over the last 7 years. While people are using social media to cope during this crisis, there is evidence that social media addiction may have negative effects on the mental health of individuals.
Just like gambling, social media is designed to change the way your brain works. Developers expect you to become addicted and keep coming back for more. The most significant effect on your health is that you will eventually lose every form of impulse control. If you’re treating depression and anxiety, an addiction to social media might contribute to these symptoms.