Pandemic Effect on the Digital Consumer
The Pandemic and Its Effect on the Digital Consumer
It is safe to say that the pandemic brought about drastic changes to almost every aspect of our everyday lives. This goes the same for social media as well. Since digital media had to adapt to this new world we were thrown into, so did we. We may not realize it, but both us as consumers and social media have gone through some serious changes since the beginning of Covid-19. Due to the pandemic, digital media has become one of the primary ways of communication with one another. We stay updated, informed, and connected through it and have come to rely on it as a source of vitality. Through the pandemic social media had to adapt to meet our every need including not only being a source of communication but also entertainment. While entertainment played a huge part in getting us through lockdown, we had to resort to digital media even for the little things such as getting groceries, getting new clothes, getting work done, and interacting with others. It is hard to adapt to such change without going through changes ourselves. The pandemic has changed us all, using digital media as one of its tools. Will we ever go back to the way things once were?
Movies, TV, and More, Oh My!
What do you do when you’re locked inside for weeks and can’t see your friends and family, or even go out to get groceries? You stay inside and watch a movie. Americans spent the majority of their quarantine time finding new ways of entertaining themselves. Movies were a great way to do this, especially if you wanted to watch them and connect with the family. Platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Youtube all saw very significant increases in their app downloads and website traffic. According to The New York Times, apps such as Netflix saw anywhere from 16 million to 26 million users a day, and as high as 120 million users on their website daily (New York Times). While seemingly harmless, this created quite a bit of problems for the at home movie enthusiasts. Having the time and means to watch movies and TV all day helped contribute to millions of people developing a binge watching disorder. Binge watching was encouraged by popular streaming services as well as many other sources as a way to pass the time while staying locked inside. People would finish shows with multiple seasons the same day they started watching them. According to the US National Library of Medicine, “ During the lockdown period although more than half the participants (53.3 %) were found to be working from home yet most of them agreed that their TV/ internet usage has increased (73.7 %) considerably daily (27.6 %). This might indicate the use of binge-watching as a coping mechanism”. This source explains this to be a poor coping mechanism because people would spend their days imagining their lives were different and were those of the fictional characters being portrayed on their screens. Some reasons why people explained they would watch television all day concluded to be to relieve stress and or anxiety, to overcome loneliness, to relieve boredom, and to fill some of their social needs. While binge watching provides for some short term relief, shows and movies all eventually come to an end, and the effects only last until the next binge is started. Having access to so many television and movie sources every day was a poor coping mechanism that many people fell victim to. Leading to binge watching disorders, and a severe lack of motivation and exercise, it severely impacted the way that many digital media users thought and lived. It is only now that we are starting to emerge from our movie dens and learn how to interact face to face once again.
The Dark Side of Social Media
While numbers for popular streaming services during Covid-19 skyrocketed, so did it for some of the most popular communication apps. Check out our page for more information on the most popular apps during Covid. The need to stay connected was never needed as much as it was during the pandemic. Finding ways to connect with other people and stay in touch became a huge way to pass the time. Social apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat all saw much higher numbers all throughout quarantine. These numbers were so high that it appeared almost everyone was relying on social media for entertainment and interaction. Social apps developed into a crutch in which people would rely on to get them through the passing weeks. Now, it appears we have become more addicted to social media than ever. While social media is an excellent resource to find ways of staying busy, connected to others, informed on the latest news, and finding ways of bettering ourselves, it is also a doorway that opens us up to being vulnerable and exposed. By taking part in social media we put ourselves out there and can find ourselves a victim of cyberbullying and online trolls. While the internet is a bright and bubbly place, it has a dark side that can easily put people in a bad mood. Words can hurt, and people behind a screen know how to use them. Many people who were on social apps during the pandemic found themselves face to face with internet trolls too often, which sometimes resulted in low self esteem. The other downside of social media is sometimes the positives. Seeing when other people are having a good time (like celebrities), can bring down our mood and cause us to be jealous or upset. When we compare our lives to others that we see on the internet, we can make ourselves feel inferior and like we’re missing out. This makes us feel even more isolated in our quarantine. According to the CDC, about 40.9% of adults reported feelings of poor mental health such as anxiety or depression during the Covid-19 pandemic. To sum it up, while the internet can do a great job of making us feel connected, it is also extremely talented at making us feel more detached and lonely than ever before.
The Sun Will Come Out
While the world is starting to open back up again due to the vaccine and lower numbers of Covid19, people are emerging from their shells and joining the in person world once again. While digital media has become such a prevalent part of today’s world, the hope is that we will no longer need to rely on it in the coming years. Many people are already taking efforts to stray away from social media for a while and take a ‘social hiatus’. Hopefully with the slowing numbers of digital media we will be able to get back on our feet and connect with each other face to face once again. Digital media has become a helpful tool to us. However I think the takeaway from this is that while we can use it to our benefit, we should try not to rely on digital media as a way to connect and interact with one another. The world is a much brighter place when we can put down the screens and enjoy the beauty of one another without distractions.
Gabriella Harris