Social Media In The Times of Corona Virus
It was Social Media that was responsible for populating the news that Corona Virus was developed in a secret government lab of China. It didn’t end there, there was news of fake medicines: liquids, gels and powders that protected you from the virus.
There was also news about countries and celebs. News about Bill gates behind the virus, Taiwan covering the actual number of deaths, Italians marching on the streets and blaming China for bringing the virus to their country. None of the above were found to be true.
If nothing else, this at least proves that Social Media has a huge responsibility: The responsibility of spreading the truth. For a country that follows the principles of MK. Gandhi on truth and non-violence, while non-violence is needed in real life, truth is essential for Social Media.
The three monkeys – Don’t Write Fake News | Don’t Read Fake News | Don’t Share Fake News should be the new principles to follow in the modern-day world. One thing that is spreading faster than Corona Virus is fake news about it.
Talking of us as a Social Media agency, the business has been impacted. Our clients in wedding and travel sector have already slowed down promotions. For an economy that was already struggling, this comes at a bad time for businesses. Just today we reached out to all our clients to understand the impact of Corona Virus on their respective businesses and see how as their digital partners we could come to rescue.
Increasing Awareness is what came out to be the outcome of our discussion with the clients. The team at Social Eyes is working really hard to make sure that the right messages across all platforms are sent to educate followers of our clients from various industries.
Besides working with our clients, here are some internal measures we took as an organization to tackle the situation:
- Wash hands as often as possible.
- Sneezing is healthy as long as it’s not done on table / things / mouse / keyboard…etc.
- If you fall sick, take rest. Health First!
- Travel safe, with safe distance from those who appear unwell
So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of Corona Virus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!
President Trump recently compared Corona Virus to a normal flu, mentioning that more people fall sick and die of Flu than from Corona Virus. This comparison is unfair given that normal flu has never impacted the economy / travel this much, we need to treat the situation with the panic it has created. What we are witnessing is a panic created by people, for the people. India has more people that die of Dengue every year and no masks can prevent you from a mosquito bite.
The panic is real, so is the situation. India has already cancelled all tourist visas – For a state like Kerala that survives on tourism, this is no less than the flood they witnessed in 2018.
As much as we might feel relieved by shutting doors to tourism, we still need to work hard to ensure that creating panic is not a solution to Corona virus.
We are working closely with our clients Kochi to take charge of the situation and making sure that right messages are communicated across all Social Media channels; the best we can do being their Digital Marketing Partners.
As a closing note, we would like to urge all the readers to know that you are bigger than Corona Virus, what you choose to broadcast using Social Media, or word of mouth has bigger impact right now than the virus itself. Be a responsible citizen, and spread positive news of how you wish to do well for yourself and your family than spreading the news of how it has put you in panic.
