Do you care whatever you do?
Do you care wherever you go?
Do you care whomever you meet?
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat. Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr. There are countless apps, sites, and programs which let you enter the realm of social media. And I know, social media is important, I get it.
Without social media, this article wouldn’t find its readers. Without social media, my family on the other side of the globe wouldn’t be able to follow my stories on my blog. Without social media, people couldn’t get in touch with each other so fast and easy. I’m not denying any of it. But tell me, does social media make us more social? How is it possible that we live in a lonely world although we have the Internet to connect us with the whole world?
Pardon me if I sound harsh, but don’t you have the impression that in today’s society people care more about followers than about people?
Don’t you, too, realise that young adults care more about increasing their likes on Instagram than about pushing themselves to better results in school and university? Don’t you think that we constantly care more about our phones in the hands than about the guy we’re sitting next to in class, or the friend with whom we travel, or the family with whom we dine?
Maybe you think I’m exaggerating, but I have the impression that people do not care. We do not care. I do not care enough. I don’t care enough about what I say without thinking. About whom I hurt. About how to make someone else’s life a little easier. Sometimes I do not even care enough about myself.
But I should care. You should care. We should care.
About people. About words. About history. You should care about that kid you sit next to in French class. And about your Mum who worries about you. And about your teachers who are trying their best to provide you with education. We should care about all the things that seem tiring and not fun. About our responsibility as citizens, partners, children. About our world and about ourselves. For we are as much part of this society as everyone else is.
Living in a society means to care for each other, rely on each other, trust each other. It’s impossible to create those feelings and foster them without undivided attention to your neighbour and real-life socialising.
Don’t throw your phone away. Don’t delete your Facebook account. (You wouldn’t do it anyways, would you? :D) But switch them off from time to time. You care for the world surrounding you when you look up from your screen while traveling. You care for your friends and family when you put your phone away while eating in a restaurant. And finally, you care about your society when you learn how to use your device to make a difference in the world. It's not about the followers you earn. Let it be about the content you put out there and about the one you take in. Care!
