The Importance of Social Media to Society During the Pandemic

     We all can recognize the importance that social media has in our lives and the role that it plays. When we look back on the last year of our lives, I think that we can all agree that social media was somewhat of a positive factor in many peoples lives. At the end of the day, social media was created to keep people connected that can't always be physically near. 

    Humans bond over shared experiences, and quarantining during a pandemic is definitely an experience people across the world had to suffer through. Social media acted as some peoples main communication between friends and family members both near and far.  Facebook introduced the "care" button during the pandemic, a new reaction showing a smiley face hugging a heart. While this may seem trivial, to many an emoji hugging a heart was a way to send an emotion and an action that was for many impossible to convey otherwise. When talking about the new emoji, Facebook product manager Misbah Uraizee explains, "Love already works really well. But we also tried to find a reaction that can work for use cases where it's not purely about love, like when someone wants to show an emotion like sympathy, support, or care. Something beyond Love.” Social media is also a great place to share content. Many were able to get lost in the TikTok trends and stay entertained that way, others were able to find a relatable comic and share it with family and friends.