Over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more and more people online and onto social media. According to a survey by DataReportal, social media users have increased by more than 10% over the past one year, with the total number of social media users reaching 3.96 billion globally at the beginning of July 2020. Dakota James is one of the people who took advantage of the surge in social media users to become an internet and social media sensation during the pandemic.
Dakota is a renowned model who shot to overnight success online and now has over one million followers on her Instagram. She now collaborates with top brands to produce content for them and post it on her Instagram page and is one of the most sought-after models online.
With lockdowns, movement restrictions, and social distancing rules, people turned to social media, which is a safe space where they could interact with their friends, be entertained, and even find motivation and inspiration without risking contracting the virus. It is a way to stay connected with family even while being physically separated. Platforms such as TikTok and Twitch have seen surges in traffic, as they provide entertainment for people on their phones without having to leave their homes.
Social media has become a source of information for many people. For instance, some governments and institutions are posting updates on the COVID-19 pandemic and ways to protect oneself on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. These platforms have seen an increase in the number of daily users, as people find them an easier way of getting instantaneous information.
Individuals are not the only ones who've taken advantage of social media during the pandemic – brands have also seen the importance of capitalizing on social media to market their products. They now have a larger audience to advertise their products through various methods such as popular COVID-related hashtags, Instagram posts, and live streaming on their accounts, and the use of influencers. Since more people are online each day, the reach and engagement of the posts are much higher than they were before the pandemic.
This has been a bad year for most people, but the few who managed to capitalize on the increased social media usage, like Dakota James, have made it big during the pandemic.