Influence of Social Media on Society

The Double Take column looks at a single topic from an African and Chinese perspective. This month we discuss how people perceive the role of social media.

A Double-Edged Sword

Sylvia Mutua

A 36-year-old Kenyan in Beijing

In my opinion, social media can have both favorable and unfavorable consequences on our society. Taking the case of the COVID-19 pandemic as an illustration when most people across the world stayed at home and therefore turned to social media as a source of news, information, shopping, and also entertainment.

Children who could not go to school used social media to learn and keep themselves occupied. Business organizations turned to social media to stay afloat and appeal to their customers to make profits. My government in Kenya was not left behind as they also turned to social media in communicating with the citizenry to push the stay-at-home campaign, hand washing and other public health messages. Global organizations such as the World Health Organization also used social media in advocating for responsible health habits across the world.