What is World Social Media Day All About?

June 30th is World Social Media Day, an annual event that highlights the positive impact of social media on our lives. Of course, there is the argument that social media can actually have a harmful effect on peoples’ mental health and wellbeing mainly due to the pressures of living a seemingly perfect life online and the need for clicks and likes.

However, it’s undeniable that social media can be a force for good - especially if you’re someone who works away from home such as in a job at sea.

Seafarers depend on social media to stay in touch with their friends and family on land so, in light of that and in honor of World Social Media Day we’re going to focus on the benefits of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the rest of the bunch!

What is World Social Media Day?

World Social Media Day was created by the digital news and entertainment website, Mashable, back in 2010 as a way of recognizing the power that social media has to connect people, share information, and create change for the greater good.

So what can you actually do on World Social Media Day? Apart from endlessly scrolling your Facebook or TikTok feeds that is!

The day is actually a great opportunity to learn more about social media and how you can use it to enhance your life and that of those around you. Social media can also be a useful tool for when it comes to either finding a seafarer job or, if you’re an employer or a manning agent, for finding seafarers to fill your vacancies.

And of course, it’s always good to connect with other people - whether you have friends in a different country or you’re onboard a vessel and want to check in with the folks at home.

And if you really feel passionately about social media, there are any number of ways you can celebrate Social Media Day, either as a seafarer or as a maritime recruitment officer or crew manager. Let’s look at a few.

Ways to celebrate World Social Media Day for employers and manning agents

Attend a social media event or conference and find out how it can help your business
Connect with fellow companies in the maritime industry
Develop your company’s social media presence, if you don’t already have one
Learn about the latest social media trends and use them to engage with prospective clients and candidates
Investigate using social media platforms such as LinkedIn as a way to find and source seafarer candidates for your job vacancies

And now let’s take a quick look at some ways seafarers can celebrate World Social Media Day.

Ways to celebrate World Social Media Day for seafarers

Join seafarer and maritime groups on Facebook to connect with fellow seamen and women
Re-share your favorite social media posts that highlight your life at sea
Participate in a fun or worthy social media challenge
Create a group on your favorite social media platform and invite your fellow crew to join to help build a sense of community while you’re working on that vessel
Join Twitter and follow other maritime professionals and use hashtags to search for seafarer jobs

Social media is a constant presence in many of our lives, so it can be easy to forget that it can be used for good and isn’t just a stop gap to scroll mindlessly through when we’re bored. And that’s what World Social Media Day is all about.

It provides us with an opportunity to celebrate the ability of social media to connect people and make a difference in the world. For example, here are a few ways that social media has impacted our lives:

It’s made it easier to connect with friends and family who live far away - or on land if you’re at sea
It’s made it easier to stay informed about current events - no matter where you are in the world
It’s made it easier to find information and resources about any number of topics
It’s made it easier to grow your business and reach a much bigger audience
It’s made it easier to raise awareness about important issues, such as seafarer happiness and wellbeing at sea
It’s made it easier to get involved in your community - whether that’s your local area or your community of fellow seafarers

Why it’s important to use social media wisely

Social media is a powerful tool that can be used for good. But on the flip side that also means it can be used for bad - for example, the spreading of fake news or dangerous agendas. You also need to be careful that you don’t harm your career at sea, if you’re a seafarer.

sign on a goat's pen saying 'be careful'

Some employers do check the social media accounts of their employees and candidates and won’t be impressed if you’re using your pages to spread offensive or unpleasant information or content.

Likewise, if you’re an crew manager, manning agent or maritime recruitment officer, and you’re checking out applicants’ or employees’ social media accounts, you need to be careful about how you use the information you have found.

Checking on peoples’ social media can be a great way to get better insight into who they are as a person before you interview them, but there can be risks and you need to make sure you’re looking at the info you find in a professional and unbiased way.

And whoever you are, it is important to use social media responsibly and to be aware of the potential risks. However, when used for good, social media can be a force for positive change in the world - and in your career or business.

Now the only thing left for us to do for this World Social Media Day is to invite you to come and follow Martide on our social media channels!

You can find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest. We’re active on all of our social media pages and you’ll find a daily mix of blog posts, seafarer job vacancies, maritime industry news, quotes for seamen, recruitment tips and anything else maritime related that takes our fancy!