Facebook Philanthropists: Saving the World one Like at a Time?

 

 

There seems to be a great deal of stressed kids on this blog at the moment, so I thought a bit of laughter would do everyone good. This is a funny video mocking Facebook. It reminded me a lot of Amusing Ourselves to Death. Postman talks about how the telegraph brought people news from all over the world, but the news was irrelevant to them. He uses the example of "Princess Adelaide's whopping cough." This type of news isn't important. Sure, readers of the news might pity the poor princess (I really love alliteration!). They may even send a "get better soon" card or a "get better soon" tweet. Whatever way you slice it, however, this type of news is pretty useless and merely a form of entertainment. The readers of news cannot truly act in response to the news. This is like the guy in the video who feels that if he likes causes on Facebook, he is somehow bettering the world in which he lives. In reality, his act doesn't make much of a difference.

The Internet takes up hours in an average person's day. We spend so much time texting, tweeting, and Googling that we miss out on opportunities to serve or interact with our fellow men in person. When we like a worthy Facebook cause, it's as if we are telling ourselves, "It's okay to be on the web for hours. We are making a difference!" It is our justification for our distraction. Yes, liking a homeless shelter page can bring awareness to homeless people's need, but think about what an even greater impact could be made if all the people who liked the page also went and volunteered at the shelter! Its like the difference between a greeting card and the actual physical presence of a person. The greeting card is a small token of appreciation, but being able to actually talk to the person in real life is better.

Neil Postman warns that television is negatively changing our news, religion, politics, and education system. Nicholas Carr says that we are destined to be destroyed by the Internet. Aldous Huxley's "brave new world" serves as a warning to us of what we may become. Can we rise above the challenges these three authors discuss and cling to the characteristics that make us human? I believe that we have a better chance of doing so if we spend less time "liking" pages and more time loving others. Do you agree or disagree?