Thanksgiving has come and gone, but the posts on social media are here to stay. Social media is making waves during holidays, especially with helpful applications and people continuously tweeting out what they’re thankful for. Instagram has become a top tool to capturing people’s Thanksgiving moments with friends and family, and Twitter has become a prime platform to express what you’re thankful for this season.
According to article by Slate, since 2012 Instagram has become a hotspot for documenting holiday food, and moments with friends and family. Some might think that Instagram is not meant for holiday food posts, but I don’t see it changing anytime soon. Twitter has also become the primary place for pictures, quotes and funny memes relating to the holiday. The hashtag, “#thanksgivingwithblackfamilies” went viral this year, and captured the fun of the holiday season.
People are also thankful when flying for “social seating”, according to an article from Time. This application allows you to post your flight information and have others help choose who will sit next to you to decrease your “flying anxiety”.
All of these social media platforms connect us for the holidays, more than we normally are, with trending hashtags and similar posts. They can also decrease our holiday anxiety, and make it easier to deal with the holiday season.
However, if you do feel extremely stressed and anxious and you’ve been using your phone a lot, put it down. According to an article by The Huffington Post, experts from the Media Psychology Research Center say that social media is liable to increase your anxiety during stressful times. Just limit your social media time, and save it for when you tweet out what you’re thankful for or a post on Instagram with friends and family.
Resources:
Beres, D. (November 23, 2015). Social Media Can Make Holiday Stress Wrose. Retrieved November 27, 2015 from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/social-media-anxiety_56534766e4b0d4093a587400
Dhir, R. (November 26, 2015). Celebrities Give Thanks on Social Media for Thanksgiving. Retrieved November 27, 2015 from: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/Celebrities-Give-Thanks-Social-Media-Thanksgiving-354498501.html
Hess, A. (November 25, 2015). Thanksgiving Is the Worst Social Media Holiday. Retrieved November 27, 2015 from: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/users/2015/11/thanksgiving_on_instagram_is_the_worst_turkeys_are_ugly.html
Staff. (November 23, 2015). How Airlines Are Using Social Media for Seat Selection. Retrieved November 27, 2015 from: http://time.com/4124348/thanksgiving-2015-airlines-flight-seating-social/
Allison Nash 