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When the pandemic hit, many of us didn’t acknowledge our own emotions. We were too busy writing content, checking accounts, working on the crisis communication team to even check-in with others, let alone ourselves. It took almost two months for the panic to calm down and the reality of working from home to hit us. It’s one thing for our every day “norm” to change, but it’s a different situation when you realize you’re living through a world-wide pandemic. Now that the dust has settled, we’ve been able to stop and process our thoughts that have accumulated over the past couple of months. The conclusion – we aren’t okay.

Gone are the days of mental health awareness being taboo. We now live in a world where talking about your mental health journey is openly accepted. Scrolling through TikTok and Instagram, I see many influencers talking about their emotional state. Because of this, other people have joined in and have started to share their personal experiences and struggles with mental health. There is something refreshing about knowing you aren’t alone in something. When the idea of conducting a mental health survey among social media managers in higher education was proposed, I was really excited, but also apprehensive. How I deal with my stress is very different than how others may deal with theirs. I am one of the first people to openly express myself when it comes to mental health. I’ve lived with depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder for most of my life and I’ve developed several coping mechanisms to handle the low times. I wasn’t sure if others would be as open with how they are feeling, especially towards their supervisors. It became evident after reading over the results that the people taking the survey were at their breaking point and looking for a place to shout their frustrations. I know that point all too well, so I understand the importance of finding an outlet to manage my mental health.

In social media, we often talk about taking risks. We tout our willingness to fail as we set out to attempt something new. We convince our bosses not to worry, that we know what we’re doing, even (and perhaps especially) when we haven’t the slightest clue how the new venture will work out. 

And so we present to you: TikTok by WestVirginiaU. 

Hi there! My name’s Morgan. I’m a social media intern at West Virginia University and a current senior marketing student here. And I also run WVU’s Instagram (with some guidance and help from Tony and Candace, of course).

Instagram Stories – the Snapchat copycat. I initially disregarded Instagram Stories, released in August 2016, and was annoyed that it was the platform’s attempt at catching up with Snapchat (and I’m still kind of annoyed, but it’s fine). Short clips of photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours? Seems familiar.

If you look through a college student’s phone, you’ll likely see selfies, cute puppies and photos of food. Always food.

The future of social media centers around video. 

In June,  Facebook Vice President Nicola Mendelsohn said in five years the social media platform would “definitely” be mobile and would “probably” be “all video.”  

Snapchat jumped above Twitter in daily active users, as per an announcement last week. Snapchat passed the 150 million mark, which puts it right in between Instagram and Twitter when it comes to popular social media platforms.

But, what does that mean for higher ed? More than you think.

West Virginia University was one of the first universities on Snapchat. 

By Ashley Morgan, guest blogger

Showing the student experience has always been important, and social media is a perfect platform to do it.

West Virginia University, like most colleges and universities, gets a lot quieter during the summer. Our students travel home for the break, backpack through Europe or take a road trip across the country.

I remember being an 18-year-old ready to head to the “big city” of Morgantown. I packed a carload of essentials and even more questions: How do I get to campus from my dorm? Does Burger King accept my meal plan? Where is Ming Hsieh Hall located?

We have hundreds and hundreds of social media accounts across our University ... in fact, I've never really counted, it may be more than 1,000. The WVU social media footprint is gigantic.