14 Best and Worst Things People Do on Social Media Amidst Lockdown

• Amidst the COVID-19 lockdown, millions of Filipinos spend most of their time on different social media platforms for updates and to escape idleness and boredom.
• Social media platforms have fallen saturated with COVID-19 related content — news, stories, infographics, satirical memes, donation drives, and citizen complaints among others.
• As much as we want to maintain such a physical and psychological well-being, we choose to stay away from the most toxic dimension of social media should there be novel controversies and political figures involved — the COMMENTS.

I don’t count the days I have been and will still be at home for this lockdown. What I count are the posts that I pen and upload to this blog through the days. Just another no-big-deal realization, there are always two sides of this situation — the good and the bad — which can be decided on the personal level.

While I also check social media from time to time, I have observed how people make lots of things that can be classified as either good or bad depending on the content, motive, and social impact. Hence, I’ll try to draw a thick line between the best and the worst of these.

7 WORST THINGS People Do on Social Media

[1] Amidst the serious problem, others still cross the line of social media etiquette and become irresponsible trippers and fame whores as they spread fake news — self-announced local community COVID-19 cases, lockdown extensions, conspiracy theories, videos years ago being reuploaded and reshared, and many others linked to the pandemic — all but cause additional stress and panic among people.

[2] Profiteers (the bloodsuckers) aggressively grab their once-in-a-lifetime business opportunities driven by market demands and shortages upon hoarding and online-selling overpriced commodities such as disinfectants, sanitizers, and face masks. On the same platforms, many online publishers excessively sensationalize news stories for the sake of website traffic (observe how different media outlets create headlines).

[3] Disrespect has become the ‘coolest’ social media trend as even young immature people make harsh, offensive, and vulgar comments and remarks to elders and key government officials. Insulting others for their beliefs, political affiliations, and shortcomings (for instance, the LGUs) is very common.

[4] Apart from bold disrespect, people keep on curating viral memes that already go beyond their mere entertainment and satirical values — memes that imply the diminishing ethical and moral standards among social media users.

[5] As soon as updates are released, people express their judgments openly and impulsively without reservations, second thoughts, and even getting into details. Many don’t even read the entirety of articles as if headlines always tell it all.

[6] With the culture of impatience and instant gratification afforded by modern technology, people get accustomed to instant feedback and involvement, and hence fail to empathize with others or consider the what-ifs from the other end.

[7] Everyone feels entitled and superior in their opinions. People long for social acknowledgment, air their views, and do not care whether they add fire to the stressful and toxic social media environment. It’s a democratic right, but we should always draw the line between what’s good and not for all. In times of crisis, division is what we should fear more.

7 BEST THINGS People Do on Social Media

[1] Far from the worst social media users mentioned, there also come the social media heroes who keep on inspiring others to help as they share heartwarming stories and deeds that benefit all.

[2] While others initiate online petitions to oust government officials (as if we have time for this) due to the latter’s underperformance and lack of initiative, there are also those like our local celebrities and prominent personalities who initiate donation drives or make donations themselves.

[3] In crisis like this, the government should be taken as partners in the solution. Rather than complaining and blaming the government in its inadequate efforts, there are among us who connect with their local government units by making them informed about the community needs and occurrences.

[4] Perhaps, there’s nothing more helpful than to make others informed as well. When trusted news outlets release updates — number of COVID-19 cases and government advisories among others, people do share and forward them to their social media accounts and group chats so to keep everyone abreast of.

[5] We all have our own fields of expertise, interests, and boredom busters that can be worth sharing while others look for productive opportunities for growth and development at the comfort of their homes. We see others sharing their meaningful thoughts and worth-replicating practices on social media —exercise routines, cooking tips and recipes, engaging games, and even teaching kids new lessons.

[6] It’s what most people do online — provide entertainment. From funny memes to TikTok dance microvideos and dramatic monologues, people do not run out of creative stuff that can make everybody laugh and forget about the crisis for even a few seconds or minutes.

[7] Last but not least, we find people sharing the same hopes and prayers both online and offline. As what we always hear and watch over the television, with the sense of ‘bayanihan,’ our trademark spirit of communal unity — WE HEAL AS ONE.