Whether you’re looking for them or not, inspirational viral videos show up on your social media feeds. Some of them are heartwarming and uplifting, like the one where the baby receives his first pair of glasses or a woman hears her family’s voices for the first time. Others, however, do more harm than good. These are the videos that show the popular kids asking their peers who have special needs to prom, or the ones who give food and shoes to those who are homeless or less fortunate. On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with these videos. After all, the people in these are performing acts of kindness, right? Maybe. Or maybe there’s more to it than that.
Before the advent of the viral video, the only way anyone would know if you did something nice for another person was if you told them about it. Imagine how that conversation would go, if you walked up to a huge group of your friends and began to tell them how you bought lunch for a homeless man or how you asked your classmate who has Down Syndrome to prom. Wouldn’t it seem like you were bragging about being nice? Like, maybe you were being nice just to get attention?
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Now think about that in the context of viral videos. When we record our acts of kindness and post them for the world to see—sometimes even promoting them to get more views—we take the focus off the people we claim we want to help. Instead, we’re asking people to look at us, see how nice we are, and all the good we’re doing. In the process, we’re belittling the people we say are so important.
If the people we’re doing kind things for were truly our priority, wouldn’t their feelings and well-being be the most crucial thing? Put yourself in their shoes and imagine being filmed by someone who says they want to do a nice thing for you. Wouldn’t that be uncomfortable and maybe even embarrassing? Think about the special needs students who are asked to prom by the most popular kids in school. Often, a big deal is made by the asker about how the special needs student is just as beautiful or valuable as anyone else and deserves a night to remember. Is this true? Absolutely. But when you feel the need to use whatever platform you have to convince others of an individual’s beauty or worth, perhaps you don’t fully believe in it yourself.
Videoing people who are viewed as “less than” by society is unnecessary and exploitative. The people who are the subjects of these videos do not exist for our edification and we have to stop treating them that way. If we are moved to act in the best interest of another human, then let’s leave the cameras at home. No one has to know what we do for them; if we are doing it with a pure heart, it will make a difference to that person; that will be enough.
Individuals are equal in value, regardless of our beliefs, socioeconomic backgrounds, education levels or abilities. While it is important to encourage the acceptance of those around us, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s dignity or self-respect. Making a spectacle out of what should be a selfless act of kindness only objectifies those we are trying to be kind to. It demoralizes the people we say we want to uplift, ultimately making us feel better at their expense. While the inspirational viral video trend makes us all feel better about ourselves when we watch them, it isn’t worth it if it disrespects those we film.
