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Social Media Platforms Are The New Covid-19 Helplines

• By All That Trending
• 23-04-2021
• 11K

India is currently fighting the deadly second wave of novel coronavirus. Amidst all this chaos, social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter have become the new covid-19 helplines. The country is facing a shortage of oxygen cylinders, hospital beds, blood plasma and medicines, and people are posting urgent requirements on their social media handles. These platforms are being flooded with posts, retweets, stories, and people are helping the needy across the country by reposting their requirements. The power of social media is being channelised in the right direction. From bloggers to celebrities, everyone is currently hooked to their social media accounts and constantly posting the requirements and references. An Instagram user posted, “Urgent bed requirement in Pune for a 70-year-old patient with a lung infection and low oxygen levels.” Reportedly, Within four hours of posting the requirement, the patient was able to get access to the bed. On Instagram, users with references and leads for oxygen cylinders, plasma donors, hospital beds have also made a highlight of covid resources on their account so that anyone who has urgent requirements can check the highlight and get help. In fact, many users have switched their account from private to public in order to give access to a bigger horizon. A user on Twitter posted, “I was able to provide important helpline numbers for remdesivir to one of my father’s colleague based in #Kolkata from Twitter. My biggest thanks to the people providing valuable information HERE. #COVID." https://twitter.com/utsamaity/status/1384722192332558339 Not only users but doctors are also using social media platforms to inform and educate people about when is the time to visit a hospital and how not to get panic right now. “In these times of uncertainty & fear, what helps is the power of #Communication…let’s open all channels of communication to reach out to teams, colleagues, families, our friends. In the current crisis, more is less, and it’s never too much @aparanjape @Twitter.” tweeted Dr Sangita Reddy, Managing Director at Apollo Hospitals Group. https://twitter.com/drsangitareddy/status/1384903675320180738 Recently, Zomato added a “priority delivery for covid emergencies” feature in their app to prioritise the orders and provide faster delivery and dedicated customer support. “All deliveries to such customers will be contactless by default to ensure the safety of our riders and subsequent customers”, Zomato further added. It also asked people not to misuse this feature. https://www.instagram.com/p/CN72wWGJYdy/ However, Misinformation is also being spread through these social media platforms. Some circulated documents are invalid or contain outdated details. Many users are telling everyone to share a reference/lead only after personally verifying it.    

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