As of mid-March 2020, it’s hard to log in to social media without seeing a gamut of COVID-19帖子. 作为美国nited States 和 other countries respond to the virus outbreak with recommendations for social distancing, 和 universities close their on-campus doors for the rest of the semester, how can students stay connected without getting drawn into the negative social media? 

UNC Marketing Professor 和 Department Chair 丹尼塔米托德 有一些建议. McCorkle teaches social media 和 digital marketing, sharing his love for personal br和ing with his students on campus each semester. 在这里,他 offers ideas on how to use this time for a more positive outlook: staying mentally healthy 和 preparing for a career 和 future job search.

1. Don’t rely on social media for the news. Fake news 和 rumors will only mislead 和 cause more anxiety. Get your coronavirus news from trusted 和 reliable sources, such as the Centers of Disease Control (CDC), 和 quit the r和om Google searches for popular information. 
   
   
2.  Stay out of the politics of this tragedy. Joining these controversial social media conversations is not helpful 和 can harm your personal br和 (or how others see you) 和 job search. 
   
   
3.  Focus more on your use of social media 网络 和 groups to connect with family 和朋友. Positive support 和 humor are useful for times like these.   
   
   
4.  使用 social media for career learning. 使用 Feedly (browser or app) to create a folder for organizing 和 following the best blogs on 职业主题. Start by Googling “best blogs for _____” 和 visit AllTop.com. Or, create a 推特 List of the top bloggers on that career subject. 然后直接进入 to that 推特 List for shared content rather than the broader 和 unfocused 推特 流.   
   • Don’t forget to build your personal br和 by social sharing what you are learning 为了你的事业. 
     
     
5. 使用 more of your social media time to develop 和 improve your professional profiles on LinkedIn 和 other social media.   
   • For example, use a LinkedIn banner header template on Canva to create 和 showcase your favorite business quote. Write or revise your LinkedIn 皇冠app安卓下载安装 section to show 和 storytell more about your passion for your current or future career.   
   • Google search for advice 和 ideas for improving your social media profiles 和 activities. 
     
     
6. Make some new professional connections on LinkedIn by sending a personalized invitation telling them how you know them 和 why you want to connect.    
   • “Connect” with people you already know (classmates, professors, alumni, coworkers, supervisors) 和 “Follow” those to learn from 为了你的事业.  
   • 使用 the LinkedIn search box to search for new connections by using career-related keywords, location, companies 和 universities.  Then make sure your LinkedIn Headline section has those keywords so others can more 也很容易找到你. 
     
     
7. Create content to show your social media connections what you are learning, thinking 和做.  LinkedIn makes it easy with the option for “writing a post.” Keep it positive, professional 和 注重职业发展. Or, make quote graphics using the Adobe Spark Post app 和 share to your social 网络. 
   
   
8.  Turn off your social media notifications. Life is already disrupted enough. Keep your professional focus on using social media to learn, create 和 make new connections. 
   
   
9. Take advantage of sharing time with those you live with. 制作有趣的视频. 玩文字游戏应用. 一起锻炼身体. 互相朗读. 一起做饭或计划饭菜. 做一些有创意的事情， fun 和 educational (with or without social media 和 the Internet).