That video of the young man working at the Holiday Inn, being chastised as he had a meltdown…filmed & then shared all over social media like he was a freak – one we should stare in awe at bc of the entertainment of it all, has really gotten to me.
It’s gotten to the pt on social media, where LIKES are what so many are after, at ALL costs. Doesn’t matter how low you gotta stoop…doesn’t matter how divisive of a stance you need to take. Why else would someone share a video like that – of someone clearly in distress…clearly down on himself…clearly dealing w underlying MH challenges? It was Bc the content got the poster & the sharers, “LIKES.” Sure, if that’s your main goal, I guess you’ve shown the world, you don’t care if it’s at the expense of others.
Why does a post & a share like that get lot of “LIKES”? Bc it stokes emotion: in this case – it’s humor. Laughs at the expense of another human being’s challenges. And yes, MH is a polarizing topic. Some don’t believe it is a “thing.” Some believe it’s just a weakness. Some – dare I say – don’t realize we all have MH challenges. So despite how disgusting it may’ve seen to many of us, it gets posted & shared for the social currency they’re all after – LIKES.
MH is but one polarizing topic in this world. There are sides when it comes to topics like Politics, Race, Religion, Law Enforcement (& many others).
And here’s the sad part abt social media: the MOST divisive posts often get the highest # of LIKES & SHARES. Why? Bc these divisive posts stoke emotion. And they confirm what many millions of others reading, may agree with.
But what’s not considered? How many DON’T like that post…don’t agree…don’t engage…tune out &/or turn the other way. Take something as broad as politics: take a hard line stance, & likely 70-90 million ppl COULD hit LIKE on your post. That would be a pretty darn large engagement #. But how many are you turning off?
It doesn’t get the same #s (I see it daily), but if you wanna be part of solutions, try to open discussion…to ask others to meet you in the middle. Are you after LIKES…or unity & healing?
