Do you still remember the first days of quarantine? FaceBook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and other social media platforms became a big part of our lives. According to the Harris Poll, between late March and early May, found that between 46 and 51 percent of US adults were using social media more since the outbreak began. This uptake is unsurprising, as social media platforms keep friends and families close in the absence of normal contact. People can share their lives and thoughts with one post or story or video that is published on their social media. 

Quarantine is boring. 

I remember when I was under quarantine for 14 days at my own house, in Taiwan. I had been requested by the government to lock myself in my own bedroom after returning from DePauw, and been prohibited from any physical interaction with any person. Before I started my quarantine journey, I thought I would be making tons of phone calls with my friends around the world, but that was not the case. Looking back, the longest phone call I made was with the local health center. 

However, I spent a decent amount of my time on my social media platforms, watching my friends sharing their simple lives, playing Bingo through Instagram stories, doing the push-up challenges and more. In order to stay connected with my friends, I replied to some Instagram stories to start short conversation with them, tagging them on my Instagram challenges and asking questions via reposts. Knowing how other friends’ lives have been somehow comforted my loneliness during those 14 days. 

Because of COVID, the kind of social interactions that we are familiar with: face-to-face interactions, have remained prohibited. However, social interactions are essential for human beings. According to Aristotle, “Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual.” We need to find another way to socialize.

The answer? Go virtual. It turns out that social media has increasingly become a primary tool that we must use to socialize and stay connected with friends and love ones during this COVID-19 pandemic.