The Role of Social Media Platforms During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The goal of this study was to determine if, since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, people felt more or less connected to others via social media. Previous research has shown that the coronavirus pandemic affected many people’s mental health and people were able to use social media to connect electronically with friends to cope with isolation (Juvonen, Schacter, and Lessard, 2021). The social media platforms focused on were Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Tiktok. A survey was sent to Marshall University students, and 920 students responded to survey voluntarily. The survey included questions about whether their time on social media increased or decreased during the pandemic and if their use of social media made them feel connected to other users. Results indicated that about 59% of the respondents felt that social media made them feel more connected to others. Snapchat was the most used platform to connect with others during the coronavirus pandemic. Approximately 77% of the respondents’ use of social media increased during the pandemic