MUNITY is at last embracing modern times as commitment is made to the new frontier of social media. While the @thimunofficial account was created last year, a new emphasis on social media presence is being built within the press team. Under the leadership of Kara Green, an experienced social media manager employed by THIMUN, to aid a team of seven in building an engaging, professional brand through Instagram. The team is taking the opportunity to develop communication skills and working to engage delegates in new ways to grow the THIMUN community.
With this, MUNITY is now called THIMUN Press and Communications.
A discussion with the social media team on how this will happen suggests the creation of a clear strategy and direction for the account with three goals and campaigns. The first is to promote articles with quick previews of each. The second is to promote the conference, providing information and inspiration for aspiring delegates, and the third is to build a community with quirky reel interviews, games, and other content being posted regularly.
However, another motivation for this venture is to draw delegates to the MUNITY online paper. It is undeniable that readership among young adults has dwindled since the post-COVID shift to an online paper, which is a matter of great concern for all those involved. The importance of journalism and newspapers in monitoring and informing readers about global affairs cannot be overstated, and where better to build vital critical thinking and analysis skills than at THIMUN. Yet, people do not reach for their phones to read the daily happenings of the conference. The hope is that Instagram, among amusing, lighter posts, can be used to promote individual articles attracting readership.
Another undeniable factor to consider is reduced attention spans. Although this is a frequent source of nagging from older generations, this irritating point is true. According to Supportive Care ABA, the average human attention span is only 8.25 seconds, which is less than the 9 seconds of the attention span of a goldfish, and hardly enough time to read an article. In fact, for the pre-edition, reporters were advised to keep their articles to a word count of 350 words to appeal to readers. This is evident in our society with the well-documented decline of journalism. A survey taken by Statista in February 2022 revealed that most consumers never use newspapers as an information source. Newspapers, particularly in-depth articles, are essential in monitoring society, holding politicians and businesses accountable, and presenting key information to the public. Their role in molding public opinion and implementing change in countries across the globe has been profound for generations. To lose such a nuanced, powerful piece of media would be devastating to the press sector, including those who would lose their jobs, and the world at large.
This is not to say that social media shouldn’t be allowed to develop; it is important for THIMUN to remain a conference for young people and to do so it must remain relevant to them. The world of social media is a frontier to be explored and is also vital to communication in the modern age which means that learning to navigate it will be vital. Furthermore, it has facilitated a global news cycle at a scale and speed greater than has ever been imagined, allowing access to knowledge achievable by traditional format. Although this brings with it its hazards such as no WiFi, THIMUN Press and Communications must be allowed to evolve.
Illustration by Billy Williams
