As a millennial, I have been exposed to technology that’s ever changing from a very young age. I got a phone in the fifth grade and had my own laptop by the 10th, and all the while I had stayed up-to-date with everyone and everything except the news. Yet even though the world news is just waiting to be explored in articles just below my fingertips, I normally stayed in my own safe personal bubble of news. On Snapchat I normally tap through the “Discover” which consists of Kylie Jenner’s makeup dupes, celebrity gossip, and easy-to-make food tutorials. I’ll admit, I’m at fault for not choosing to open the news links or wasting my time watching Buzzfeed videos, but I’m still changing, growing, and learning. It wasn’t until recently that I came into the realization that I needed to be more aware of the world (news and in general) because ultimately, at the end of the day, I’d rather be educated on real life in all its horrors and glories than what my favorite Youtubers and Musicians are up to in their vlogs.

The current face that we’ve put on the Syrian war is of Omran Daqneesh. Without a sense of a privacy after being saved from the rubble, photographers were quick to capture a picture of a confused, frightened, and terrified little boy who had no clue what was going on or why. The war in Syria has been ongoing and seems to be endless. Every now and then there’s a news headline about the next monstrosity about the war, or a picture goes viral and is shared over a thousand times on Facebook. But what happens is that we become fixated on that one news in the spotlight and only care about the issue until the bulb runs out and then transfix our eyes on the next meme or celebrity scandal. We change our Facebook filters, retweet and share articles, and get a hashtag trending. But what good is that if no physical action is being taken to the cause? What good is it posting about Flintwood, the Louisiana Flood, Palestine, poverty etc if by the next week everyone forget about it and moves onto the next topic?

It wasn’t until July 2016 that I was aware of the savage cruelties occurring in Aleppo or that the city even existed. I knew about the war happening in Syria, but to Aleppo specifically I had no clue about. And that’s the sad part. Now, nearly everyone knows of the basis of how terrifying the war is because of the photo of Omran. It’s a truly captivating photo that will no doubt be remembered in the future when one references the war, but by making that picture the face of the occurring terrors, we have unintentionally blinded ourselves and blurred out the others that are stuck in the atrocity. With Frank Ocean’s album dropping and other activities happening, the focus on the war in today’s 1st world generation will most likely be short lived and when recalling back on it, the photo of a bloody frightened boy will be what’s remembered.

Many people aren’t fully aware of the horrors happening in their neighboring countries. People may know of what is happening, that there are wars and bloodshed, but to the extent stays unknown and unclear. It’s understandable that it may be because they don’t want to feel guilty about their possessions and safety, or that they see no desire to divulge themselves into the depressing terrible facts that’s originating from the other side of the globe. But this just causes negligence which results in little care and action being given to the other party. Although sharing and retweeting information online helps spread awareness, it’s ultimately pointless if it doesn’t cause an individual or a group to take initiative to make even the smallest of differences.

So often we let an incredibly serious issue become prevalent for a week or so, then let it die out. But this isn’t some fashion craze that’s temporary like silly bandz or rubber bracelet stacks. We can’t discard the knowledge that there’s a war or other harmful activities going on just because it’s not affecting us directly-- because it’s affecting thousands of other people. Because it could have been us, the ones sitting comfortably in our beds with a laptop propped up on our thighs, being terrified of having unexpected bombs destroying all that’s known. Generations of families are ending just on the other side of the world, and without even playing the smallest of roles we’re allowing the situation to worsen. We can’t allow news to become ‘old’ when to thousands of others it remains their reality.