(*please excuse the language*)
Social media has a way of "guilting" people into feeling a certain way/ doing certain things, often (most recently) about political issues. I saw a post on Twitter this week and it made me feel both extremely guilty and also critical of social media feeds in general. Reading the news should be an informative experience, not a guilt trip. The post was about the huge humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and how “Everyone is paying attention to COVID and BLM and no one cares about the real crisis”. Perhaps this is true, at least a part of it. But is this the right way to get people’s attention on social media? Posts like the one I just mentioned as well as the ones pictured above are going viral because they are spreading a message that needs to be heard, but also making people feel guilty for not knowing in the first place. Social media platforms like Twitter give everyone a voice and a chance to express what they believe in. I am torn because, of course the Yemen crisis is a huge problem that is heartbreaking, but people speaking up about COVID-19 and BLM are also spreading important messages. How can we be completely aware and proactive about all world issues all the time? Maybe I am overthinking it, but I believe there are more proactive ways to spread information about the Yemen crisis than making people feel guilty.
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