By Ashley Cox
Keeping friendships during the pandemic was certainly hard. A lot of people are very social and like to interact with others out in the community.
When these opportunities were shut down, we had to learn new ways to connect.
The advancements in social media and social networking made communication a little easier and gave us a chance to be creative with our days and use our imaginations. Being a social broadcaster gave me the opportunity to make new friends and have meaningful connections with those I couldn’t physically see in person.
During the pandemic and lockdown, social interaction was something I needed in order to keep my mental health in a positive mindset. The social media platforms; Instagram Live, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook Live, Twitch, and Kick helped fill the void. They introduced me to all walks of life of people, women, men, they, them, everything. Yes, there were people out there who were very cruel, and many times I questioned “Should I quit? Why do I keep doing this?” Then there were the kind ones who reminded me why I started in the first place and who wanted to see me succeed.
I started social broadcasting back in 2015 with platforms that are no longer available. But the friendships I have made over the years are ones I hold dear and cherish the most. It made it harder when I seemed to lose them too, however, we all seem to still find each other on facebook and other sites, so we had reunions and happy times.
For Social Broadcasting I used Twitch to interact with people while I am playing a video game. Sometimes it’s just myself on a web camera talking to the chat that comes in.
ZOOM has also been a huge asset with keeping up to date with everyone on my team and it was also great in that it allowed me to step away if I felt overwhelmed or upset.
With social broadcasting, I was able to build a friendship/fan base with people from all walks of life, and seeing them root for my success was an incredible feeling. A lot of the friends I made online have become an extended part of my family and made life just a little more tolerable during the pandemic.
The friends I have made still keep in contact to this day and I am so blessed to have them in my life.
My Twitch is: https://www.twitch.tv/b1gr3d7447
