Socialization

Are people forgetting how to socialize because of Covid?

By: Ashlyn Brown | 2/11/22

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the way people interact with each other has greatly changed. The pandemic has limited in-person interactions because of the fear of obtaining the virus. However, people are connecting through social media more than ever. According to Penn Medicine News, social media usage has increased 61% since the first wave of the pandemic. Liverpool High School sophomore Cali Brancato says “I see people in-person a lot less than I used to, so it made me dependent on social media to talk to my friends.” Furthermore, LHS sophomore Lauren Ragonese says “people just talk a lot less verbally because the pandemic has made them lazy and it’s just easier to use social media.”

On the other hand, the increase in social media usage has also increased social anxiety and decreased self-esteem. Personally, the pandemic has caused me to develop social anxiety. I used to be very outgoing and talkative and now I find it very difficult to even start a conversation with someone. LHS junior, Ciarra Fox, struggles with the same challenges saying, “I no doubt have social anxiety now because of the pandemic and I’m overall just very socially drained”.

Additionally, education during the pandemic has also had a large impact on socialization. Last year, classes were mainly on Google meets, decreasing the amount of in-person interactions between students. This leads to students using social media to talk to others which contributes to the 61% increase of social media usage. LHS science teacher, Karen Springer, says “For me, there has been some change for teaching, but I went back to teaching how I taught before covid. I have to do stuff in front of students, with my hands, with people. That's how I teach, so covid was really hard."

Overall, the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced people to rely on social media as a way to socialize with others. It is very important to limit the amount of time you spend on the internet so you don’t forget how to interact verbally. According to The Job Network, limiting your time on social media will also benefit you by giving you greater self-awareness, better ability to focus and increase productivity. You can limit yourself by simple ways such as doing a screen-free hobby or leaving your electronics in a different room. Karen Springer says “I'm hoping the sensitivity and generosity toward one another has not been lost but I am a little worried that it has been.”