数字健康与会展参与者：Informa Connect 会议制作人谈如何优先促成线下联结

Sometimes, sharing isn’t caring.

Meta recently settled a federal lawsuit related to claims the platform violated federal child-privacy laws in 47 states. This is just one of several thousand lawsuits filed against the social platform. The lawsuit delves into privacy and protection for impressionable teens using the platform. Furthermore, it brings into question the platform’s addictive algorithm and the rise in related mental-health issues.

Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with this digital danger.

I personally started using social media in fourth grade, before I even had a cellphone—and no, my parents didn’t rush off to get me the newest iPhone. My first phone was a Tracfone with only a few numbers and capability to only send text messages when I was walking home from school. Still, my iPod allowed me to open accounts on Instagram and Snapchat when all the other kids my age were doing the same thing.

Even from an early age, I knew I didn’t want to be left out. I wanted to be a part of the community my friends and other peers were creating online.

I’ve always loved social media and seen it as a vehicle for good; I made a career of it, after all. But that doesn’t mean I love everything about these platforms and how they increasingly worsen many mental-health issues. According to a 2025 poll by the American Psychiatric Association, 32% of adults surveyed believe social media does more harm than good while 44% of respondents felt neutral, leaving only 24% believing in social media’s powers for good.

Lily Nagy, senior conference producer, pharma and life sciences at Informa Connect, details her personal and professional social media use and how the event community can better navigate the addictive algorithms. One central point she makes: As we look to navigate digital disruption and the reality of constant connectivity, getting together in person is more valuable than ever.

Fear of Missing Out

Growing up in Gen Z, it was easy to know when you were left out because photos of your friends together would be plastered all over stories, and there I was home alone without an invitation to join in on the fun.

It made me wonder: Was there something wrong with me? Why wasn’t I included, too?

There it is again; sharing isn’t always caring.

FOMO is something we all use in the meetings and events community in the hopes of bolstering attendance at future events, but sometimes the fear of missing out doesn’t transfer to attendance; it creates isolation.

Nagy defines FOMO not as a practice to make attendees feel left out, but rather a hopeful aspiration that they also want to be a part of a community making great strides toward better education, networking, programming, etc.

As an event producer, Nagy shares this insight: “What I’m trying to generate is [that] you want to be a part of this community,” she said. “You want to be in this room and find something you didn’t realize you needed.”

She also offers a reminder that what we see on social media isn’t always the absolute truth.

“What I really learned is that the most meaningful experiences aren’t the ones that [you] can post online,” she said.

Community, Not Constant Connectivity

When Nagy entered the social media world in high school, she was instantly hooked on Instagram. She enjoys content such as “comfort creators,” influencers who value connection and emotional storytelling over playing into the addictive algorithm. She finds herself at ease while taking in the lives of other users close to her age.

Here, then, the platform has the power to do good. It creates mental escapism, a quick break from the real world. What she values about social media is sort of a parasocial community—but a community, nonetheless. But she knows the greatest community value comes not from social media, but from true togetherness.

“I just wish that people understood the message of, the more digital our world becomes, the more valuable face-to-face interactions become,” she said.

One thing social media does really well in the event community, Nagy calls the “snowball effect,” which is when social sharing leads to event attendance. It’s kind of like word of mouth but with a bigwig social-media endorsement.

“One of the biggest things that drives people to our events is word of mouth or just seeing someone in the industry that has gone to the event. That gives an extra sense of security and it ends up being a snowball effect,” she said. “If one speaker gives me a chance from one of the big pharma companies, the rest all come in.

“It’s gone from traditional word of mouth to that social media word of mouth, that endorsement,” she added.

We’ve all seen it. Anytime you register for an event, you immediately are sent a LinkedIn graphic that says something along the lines of, “I’m attending this industry event, hope to see you there,” in the effort to get other like-minded individuals to join.

It’s a good strategy, because it’s a human-centric approach. It highlights your authority and tags your community to come along.

Another social media strategy that has served Nagy well is using baby photos of staff or attendees. Meetings Today has participated in the trend, too, and our audiences loved it.

The photos highlight the (baby) faces behind the brands. It was a fun, successful tactic because it highlights real people doing real work.

“You’re looking for someone to reach out to,” she said. “Sometimes it is the brand, but a lot of the time it’s the person behind the brand. We want to talk to someone, and that’s what we’re all really going to events for, is to talk to someone versus a brand.

“One thing [attendees] are looking for is authenticity,” Nagy emphasized.

Bye-Bye Screen Time

The American Psychiatric Association surveyed adults in 2025 and found that 50% of respondents have actively limited their social media usage.

Lily Nagy, senior conference producer, pharma and life sciences at Informa Connect, also suggests setting time limits on certain apps as a strategy to stop the scroll.

Another word to the wise: Stop the Pavlovian response.

“What I really try to put out for some of my conferences is this: You shouldn’t have your laptop open to answer emails,” Nagy said. “Challenge yourself to not have that Pavlov’s-dog response [when] you hear the Outlook notification.”

She suggests considering a people-centric approach. The notification can wait; your community won’t.

“You are here for a reason. You are in person for a reason,” she said. “The people around you are the knowledge. You came here because you believe that, too. Use that to your advantage; the knowledge is always going to be with the people. The skills are always going to be with the people.”

In addition to choosing to ignore notifications and place time restrictions limiting social media usage, here are a few other practices to protect your peace.

The Brick is a physical device that blocks distracting apps from your phone. The brick doesn’t offer overrides or workarounds, taking those easy-to-ignore screen time limits to another level.
Parental restrictions can also limit content use for adolescents. Apps like Snapchat and YouTube also offer child modes or the restriction of sensitive content.
Don’t doomscroll; instead, practice digital detox. Voluntarily select a period of time to not use your devices. If you have a Kindle, leave it alone and pick up a real book. Instead of playing a game on your phone, get with a group and play cards in person.

Studies show that less screen time lowers anxiety and stress levels, yields better rest, enables better focus and empowers users with greater overall well-being.

Start small, limit your social media use by 10 minutes each day, and try to set boundaries and stop the scroll.

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About the author

Madeleine Willis joined Meetings Today magazine in September 2025 as a content developer, departments and social media. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa where she studied Journalism and Mass Communication with a certificate in Event Management. She writes for news departments: "The Buzz," "Industry Intelligence," "Going Places" and "New & Renovated." Her contributions to Meetings Today's Next Gen initiatives include her involvement as the editor and producer of the Eventualists podcast. Willis also oversees the publications social media platforms.