From cooking with different recipes to learning a new instrument, many people have stayed occupied by picking up on new trends and branching out from their usual hobbies.

During tough times such as these, being stuck at home without the ability to leave the house may become mundane, but with the increased time on social media, many students have benefitted in more ways than one.

“Obviously my time on social media has gone up, but being on [it] has increased my knowledge on what’s happening with COVID-19 and given me things to do to pass the time,” sophomore Tiffany Park said. “On TikTok, many people post recipes or things that they do that seem fun to make or just to do in general, so I’ve been trying new things out. It lets me explore and do things I never would have expected.”

Apps such as Facebook and WhatsApp have established measures to halt the spread of misinformation.

Other apps such as Instagram launched ‘Stay Home’ stickers that are available to post on stories. When in use, Instagram highlights the post on the main homepage for its followers in hopes of spreading the word to stay home and self-isolate.

Creators previously were not allowed to put advertisements on videos that were about Coronavirus in order to protect the companies being mentioned. Due to the escalation of COVID-19, founders decided to allow the monetization of said videos, to encourage creators to talk about the issue and provide some activities to do during quarantine. 

Instead of sulking over not being able to see friends due to physical-distancing, social media apps are able to provide a close connection between friends and family, as well as keeping many entertained.