Social Gathering through Social Media: How to Remain Close in an Age of Social Distancing

Social media platforms are constantly growing and evolving. Some of us may remember sites like Xanga, Friendster, and MySpace and how they were eventually replaced by Facebook, Twitter, and Tik Tok (to name just a few current options). In an age of social distancing and cancelled conferences, we may benefit from opportunities to connect over the physical distance. We can still gather and unite as a family.

Did you know that SCP is also on social media? At present, we are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. We have a public Facebook page, a private Facebook group, a public Twitter, a public Instagram, and a public YouTube channel.

Our public accounts (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube) are open to the general public, and our Facebook group (the private one) is a centralized place that we can communicate with members and share news, ideas, webinar information, amongst other topics with our SCP family.

If you want to keep up with the most current topics and news in counseling psychology, we hope you will join us on our platforms:

As you consider joining us online, it may help to read over some of these frequently asked questions:

What is the point of social media for counseling psychologists?

Social media outlets are used in different ways:

  • To provide news
  • To support virtual connections
  • To facilitate networking
  • To make presentations
  • And so much more

Maintaining a presence in a variety of social media communities allows us to communicate a broad range of information to our fellow counseling psychologists. It also enables us to offer networking opportunities and to communicate with broader society.

Why are there different platforms?

We understand that different folx use different types of social media – some prefer Facebook, some prefer Twitter, some prefer Instagram, and some prefer listservs. We want to be able to reach different folx using the medium that works best for them.

Each platform offers its own style to share our SCP content.

  • Twitter is a primarily text-based account to share our content.
  • Our Facebook page is a public view into our great division – with links to resources and other general information.
  • Our Facebook group is a private group just for SCP members to share our news, ideas, webinar information, and build connections! Instagram is an image-based account to share our content.
  • Our YouTube account is our host of past webinars. So, if you missed out on one that you were interested in, you can access it at a later date on our YouTube! We hope to expand our YouTube account in the future to contain more videos created by folx like you!

Be on the lookout for more information on how to be part of our social media growth. Thanks to our new social media coordinator, Paulina Wojtach, our presence on the internet is really heating up!

I am not on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube. Do I have to join in order to get the content?

The content shared on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube is similar to what you see on our website or through the listserv. However, all of the information is centralized into one general stream of information, rather than scrolling through your emails. The social media accounts are an option there for your convenience!

You can access the public accounts (Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube) without having an account; however, the hosting site might limit how much content you see depending on the site. The conversations and posts on the private Facebook group are not accessible without a Facebook account, as membership in the private group is screened. You can still get information through our listervs and on our website!

I’m more interested in the list serv option. How do I join?

You can learn about our listservs and how to join here.

How do I join Facebook/Twitter/Instagram?

Here are some how to links for joining Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:

Once you have these accounts, you can click the links earlier in this post with our respective accounts and follow/join us! You do not need a YouTube account to access any of our webinars/videos.

SCP, though a great reason, is not the only reason to join social media. You can also use your connection to SCP media to connect with others in the field! We love seeing our fellow counseling psychologists and counseling psychologists-in-training gathering on social media and sharing their knowledge and experiences. We hope to see you on the digital side to continue our social gathering through social media.

Paulina Wojtach, M.A. (she/her/hers), the SCP Social Media Coordinator, is a second-year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology PhD program, with an assessment cognate, at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. She earned her Master of Arts degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Social Psychology from Ball State University. Paulina loves combining her passions of counseling psychology and social media – having worked on the Counseling Psychology Conference social media team and now excitedly SCP!

Tags: , , , , Posted on: April 10th, 2020