During lockdown, I expected my time as being part of an audience to be on hold until restrictions let up. I expected that due to the movies being shut that I wouldn't have the same collective experience I would usually have for a while. Recently a new show comes out on disney+ Ā that was called Wandavision, there was one episode that aired every Friday, normally this wouldnāt be that big of a deal, id usually just finish an episode and go over the episode in my head and question or think about my favorites parts, this was a habit most people grow into I believe, that after seeing a movie with friends or family your mind immediately goes into bringing up the best parts as if your mind wants to save those emotions you felt at the climax of the show.
Because of Covid I would usually finish the episode and feel dread knowing I couldnāt express those same opinions with my family, who all have very different tastes in movies and shows. I eventually got on the app known as TikTok and was relieved upon seeing all the people who were watching the show and talking about their theories and favourite characters and parts of the episode. I found myself having those same experiences just in a different way, much like most of the year I was having those experiences online rather than in person. The videos i saw on TikTok of people talking about Wandavision soon become my most anticipated part of my day, I looked forward after watching an episode and going on TikTok to see other's opinions on the latest episode. WandaVison was also had one of the biggest audiences watching it, bigger than another popular show at the time Bridgerton I think that having that discussion, even over social media, made it less isolating when experiencing something you enjoy. The media has always made its job to connect people easy and accessible and due to almost all of the world having to shut down and stay inside it made it more tempting to go on social media apps and interact with people. Everyone essentially ignoring the speech of "not speaking to strangers on the internet." As we all grew bored of staring at our walls. TikTok gave hundreds of thousands of people a creative outlet that connected us all together and we all utilised it best when we all needed it most.
Iām thankful that I could turn to TikTok to get the extra content I craved to see and hear about, I got to experience that collective, group experience all over again but with a much bigger audience, overall I would say the internet saved my sanity during this time and still does to this day, because of all these media platforms I get to interact and be apart of a community. Social media as a whole has continually grown and evolved to suit what humans need best, I doubt that anyone predicted that we wouldāve become so reliant on our devices or our social media accounts but nevertheless Iām glad that I had social media to turn to during these current strange times we live in.