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I recently attended an interesting workshop called ‘Social Media For Social Good’ organised by The Logical Indian for the delegates of the world youth conference on kindness for the SDGs. As the title of the workshop suggests, discussions explored how to leverage digital media for positive change in society. I was given the opportunity to further explore my thoughts on the topic when I was asked to provide some feedback on the session and was sent a set of questions by a member of The Logical Indian team to reflect on. Side note - I think we’re always being exposed to new ideas and new perspectives, yet we rarely have the time or opportunity to reflect on them deeper. (It’s good to know where you stand on things!) So, I’m very grateful I was given the chance to think about this topic more, not only because I could consider how I really feel about it, but it’s also such an important topic to talk about! Here are my thoughts, what are yours?
Young people are amongst the majority section of the current internet users. As an individual how do you navigate the virtual world in a way that is not just empowering and educating but can also possibly propel the world towards peace and positivity?
For me, it comes down to living by a set of strong, positive values and having a good sense of self-awareness to know whether or not I am unholding these values in my behaviour (including online and offline). As I’m very active on social media, it's crucial that I’m able to discern my own nature so that I'm aware of my own thoughts and tendencies and where they stem from. This helps me to navigate the virtual world in a way that I feel comfortable with (hopefully contributing to peace and positivity!) and to avoid, as much as I can, contributing to the opposite.
For example, I feel strongly that for us humans inhabiting the same earth, we should be striving towards a global community through the understanding that Earth is our shared, common home. I work in society with this in mind and focus on building bridges between cultures and promoting the positive contributions of culture through the workshops that I run in schools. I come from a society that for a long time has held the belief that it is a superior nation, so self-awareness is a critical element of me being able to achieve this because there is a need for me to recognise my own tendency to buy into that incorrect belief and to challenge it. For the past decade, travelling the world and establishing bonds with people in different countries has been the way I’ve attempted to correct this belief.
It’s important to me to be mindful of what I share online because I want it to align with my values and my larger mission as well as the vision and hope that I have for the world. Whenever I create content or re-share content online, I try to ask myself a set of questions before I post it - If I encountered this online, what emotions would I feel? What could be the potential effects or impacts of this post? How many sides of the truth am I reporting? Is what I am writing potentially perpetuating negative stereotypes or misconceptions about a particular group of people? If so, how justified are they? Is this my story to tell? Who would be the best person to tell this story? I believe that it's important to ask such questions because all too often the media (and individual internet users) wants to rile up people's emotions so that they fall for biased and divisive rhetoric and hyperbole, and, unfortunately, they often succeed in their mission. I want to try and avoid falling into the same trap.
It is unimaginable to think that something as simple as an internet connection can change the world. However, The Logical Indian identified the potential of digital media, leveraged it to its full potential and went on to make a few policy-level changes in the country with its digital campaigns. What were your takeaways from the recent workshop ‘Social Media For Social Good’ organised by The Logical Indian?
I personally think it was a great idea for The Logical Indian to take part in the World Youth Conference on Kindness for the SDGs and interact with us, global youth leaders, because I think that it is impossible to have a discussion on youth empowerment and youth agency nowadays without considering how to engage digitally with youth and youth voice.
The internet is such an integral part of young people’s lives and it has a big part to play in how they view the world, the way they learn about the world, how they communicate with the world and how they express themselves. I think we are witnessing more and more the positive potential of social media in regards to advocacy, actual impact and even social change and I think that is largely because people are awakening to a sense of responsibility. It is also because of publications like The Logical Indian who are providing an example and even proof of how it can be done.
Essentially, everything originates from people themselves. Even in the digital space, the consequences of any activity still depend on a person and the values that influence them. In this light, I think that young people need to be guided towards positive values - such as kindness, empathy and compassion - and using their own creativity and innovation, I believe that they will naturally find ways to express these values in their own unique ways online. Also, I think it’s important that young people are exposed to the positive potential of digital media and are encouraged to have a positive relationship with it so that they are able to use it to champion positive causes and positive change. I think media organisations have a big responsibility to contribute to supporting young people in this way.
How do you think online influencers and digital media is making or can make this world mellow and empathetic? Can and how can young netizens of today #virtualgandhimarch the world towards compassion?
For me, the internet is another realm where humans can communicate and interact with one another, so the same applies as the offline world - it comes down to what values we hold as individuals which ultimately influences our behaviour and the kind of message that we put out in the world. Kindness, empathy, compassion - these are the kind of values that each person needs to fortify within their own lives first. If what is in our heart is fear and suspicion for others, then, naturally, what we put out into the world is bound to reflect that.
It’s also important to focus on the positive potential of social media and create awareness among young people, especially on why we should use it for social good and how it can be done, to set an example and create a new normal.
I would like to see more internet users (individuals and organisations) choosing integrity over virality. The internet offers instant validation, which can be thrilling but it can also easily become addictive. Humans have a natural tendency to want to be liked and I think that this is a good indication that we are inherently kind. Social media allows us to surround ourselves with those who share our views and opinions which feels good but just as easily we are able to reject those who don’t. This in itself is a problem because it promotes divisions and even separatism. To the individual though, this need for instant validation can be a real problem it comes before our own integrity and sense of responsibility to promote peace and positivity. I think the media in general does a fine job in arousing public opinion to suit their own agendas, which is too often tied to a negative outcome. If we as citizens are not careful, if we don’t remain vigilant and practice discernment, then we can easily be swept up in emotions and end up contributing to this negativity.
In short, I think it is important that we (as individual internet users and organisations) take every opportunity to promote positive, humanistic values, such as kindness, empathy, compassion, at every available opportunity and I believe that the best way to promote those values is to live those values in our behaviour, both online and offline.
I recently attended an interesting workshop called ‘Social Media For Social Good’ organised by The Logical Indian for the delegates of the world youth conference on kindness for the SDGs. As the title of the workshop suggests, discussions explored how to leverage digital media for positive change in society. I was given the opportunity to further explore my thoughts on the topic when I was asked to provide some feedback on the session and was sent a set of questions by a member of The Logical Indian team to reflect on. Side note - I think we’re always being exposed to new ideas and new perspectives, yet we rarely have the time or opportunity to reflect on them deeper. (It’s good to know where you stand on things!) So, I’m very grateful I was given the chance to think about this topic more, not only because I could consider how I really feel about it, but it’s also such an important topic to talk about! Here are my thoughts, what are yours?
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| A discssion on Social Media for Social Good. Image by UNESCO MGIEP. |
Young people are amongst the majority section of the current internet users. As an individual how do you navigate the virtual world in a way that is not just empowering and educating but can also possibly propel the world towards peace and positivity?
For me, it comes down to living by a set of strong, positive values and having a good sense of self-awareness to know whether or not I am unholding these values in my behaviour (including online and offline). As I’m very active on social media, it's crucial that I’m able to discern my own nature so that I'm aware of my own thoughts and tendencies and where they stem from. This helps me to navigate the virtual world in a way that I feel comfortable with (hopefully contributing to peace and positivity!) and to avoid, as much as I can, contributing to the opposite.
For example, I feel strongly that for us humans inhabiting the same earth, we should be striving towards a global community through the understanding that Earth is our shared, common home. I work in society with this in mind and focus on building bridges between cultures and promoting the positive contributions of culture through the workshops that I run in schools. I come from a society that for a long time has held the belief that it is a superior nation, so self-awareness is a critical element of me being able to achieve this because there is a need for me to recognise my own tendency to buy into that incorrect belief and to challenge it. For the past decade, travelling the world and establishing bonds with people in different countries has been the way I’ve attempted to correct this belief.
It’s important to me to be mindful of what I share online because I want it to align with my values and my larger mission as well as the vision and hope that I have for the world. Whenever I create content or re-share content online, I try to ask myself a set of questions before I post it - If I encountered this online, what emotions would I feel? What could be the potential effects or impacts of this post? How many sides of the truth am I reporting? Is what I am writing potentially perpetuating negative stereotypes or misconceptions about a particular group of people? If so, how justified are they? Is this my story to tell? Who would be the best person to tell this story? I believe that it's important to ask such questions because all too often the media (and individual internet users) wants to rile up people's emotions so that they fall for biased and divisive rhetoric and hyperbole, and, unfortunately, they often succeed in their mission. I want to try and avoid falling into the same trap.
It is unimaginable to think that something as simple as an internet connection can change the world. However, The Logical Indian identified the potential of digital media, leveraged it to its full potential and went on to make a few policy-level changes in the country with its digital campaigns. What were your takeaways from the recent workshop ‘Social Media For Social Good’ organised by The Logical Indian?
I personally think it was a great idea for The Logical Indian to take part in the World Youth Conference on Kindness for the SDGs and interact with us, global youth leaders, because I think that it is impossible to have a discussion on youth empowerment and youth agency nowadays without considering how to engage digitally with youth and youth voice.
The internet is such an integral part of young people’s lives and it has a big part to play in how they view the world, the way they learn about the world, how they communicate with the world and how they express themselves. I think we are witnessing more and more the positive potential of social media in regards to advocacy, actual impact and even social change and I think that is largely because people are awakening to a sense of responsibility. It is also because of publications like The Logical Indian who are providing an example and even proof of how it can be done.
Essentially, everything originates from people themselves. Even in the digital space, the consequences of any activity still depend on a person and the values that influence them. In this light, I think that young people need to be guided towards positive values - such as kindness, empathy and compassion - and using their own creativity and innovation, I believe that they will naturally find ways to express these values in their own unique ways online. Also, I think it’s important that young people are exposed to the positive potential of digital media and are encouraged to have a positive relationship with it so that they are able to use it to champion positive causes and positive change. I think media organisations have a big responsibility to contribute to supporting young people in this way.
How do you think online influencers and digital media is making or can make this world mellow and empathetic? Can and how can young netizens of today #virtualgandhimarch the world towards compassion?
For me, the internet is another realm where humans can communicate and interact with one another, so the same applies as the offline world - it comes down to what values we hold as individuals which ultimately influences our behaviour and the kind of message that we put out in the world. Kindness, empathy, compassion - these are the kind of values that each person needs to fortify within their own lives first. If what is in our heart is fear and suspicion for others, then, naturally, what we put out into the world is bound to reflect that.
It’s also important to focus on the positive potential of social media and create awareness among young people, especially on why we should use it for social good and how it can be done, to set an example and create a new normal.
I would like to see more internet users (individuals and organisations) choosing integrity over virality. The internet offers instant validation, which can be thrilling but it can also easily become addictive. Humans have a natural tendency to want to be liked and I think that this is a good indication that we are inherently kind. Social media allows us to surround ourselves with those who share our views and opinions which feels good but just as easily we are able to reject those who don’t. This in itself is a problem because it promotes divisions and even separatism. To the individual though, this need for instant validation can be a real problem it comes before our own integrity and sense of responsibility to promote peace and positivity. I think the media in general does a fine job in arousing public opinion to suit their own agendas, which is too often tied to a negative outcome. If we as citizens are not careful, if we don’t remain vigilant and practice discernment, then we can easily be swept up in emotions and end up contributing to this negativity.
In short, I think it is important that we (as individual internet users and organisations) take every opportunity to promote positive, humanistic values, such as kindness, empathy, compassion, at every available opportunity and I believe that the best way to promote those values is to live those values in our behaviour, both online and offline.
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