Chitra Dassapa Social media is an interesting entity. It has transformed the way we interact, communicate and present ourselves. Most people can agree that social media is addictive, overwhelming, anxiety-inducing and overflowing with content, but is it possible we have forgotten to take a closer look at the benefits of living in the digital age?
Feel good videos are eminent across social media platforms, whether that’s “Instructions for a Bad Day,” a spoken word poem by Shane Koyczan, Timothée Chalamet’s recent sketch “Rap Roundtable” on Saturday Night Live, or a viral Tik Tok highlighting the appreciation of James Brown, Ph.D., a Chapman University professor in the First Year Foundations curriculum. Sound familiar now?
Brown’s recent, yet humble rise to internet fame was due to the students in his class who surprised him with a slew of thank you notes for his hard work and commendable spirit as their professor. Not only did this video rack up over 25 million views, but served as a reminder that even in this time of isolation, feeling loved and appreciated is necessary to feel fulfilled.
In fact, Mesfin Awoke Bekalu, a research scientist within the Harvard School of Public Health was quoted saying, “We found that routine social media use—for example, using social media as part of everyday routine and responding to content that others share—is positively associated with all three health outcomes, [which include]: social well-being, positive mental health, and self-rated health.”
As Bekalu found, social media can have a psychologically positive impact on a person’s life, if they are careful not to become emotionally dependent on the data they consume. In this time of COVID-19 where one’s inbox and Instagram is constantly bombarded with content, consider taking a moment to stop and watch the humorous, heartwarming and shareable videos and articles with the same fervor with which one reads the news.
If you’re looking for more videos as heartwarming and uplifting as Brown’s, then check out our top five positive social media posts below!
- Protect Your Dreams
- Free Hugs Campaign
- A Man Saving a Kitten’s Life!
- Will Smith, The Internet’s Newest Dancer…
- The Most Iconic Wedding EVER!
