Every time I log onto social media, I come across something that sends my mind into a whirlwind. I come across something that agonizes my soul and tears my heart into shreds. I constantly see hashtags of people that have died or traumatic incidents that have occurred. People on social media and in major news mourn and talk about these tragedies. They tend to get a lot of news coverage and are always trending on Twitter. However, they are only ‘trending’ until the next major incident occurs. That is when the whole world seems to forget about what just happened, and they move onto the next incident. One second, we are mourning one loss and in the next, another.
I can personally say that I am someone that wants peace in the world. I am also someone that does not understand the hatred that some people can feel. However, I am also not ignorant enough to believe that in today’s day and age, it is possible for people to feel much of anything. Now I am not here to blame technology or social media for desensitizing society. Instead, I would like to discuss the lack of empathy that people are experiencing. When tragedies like the ones that have been going on occur, it is so hard to feel the pain over and over again. Now in days, you can just log off your Facebook or change the channel on the television and be completely oblivious to what is going on. There is something terribly wrong with how quickly the trending hashtags change. There is also something wrong with how quickly the news goes through one ear and out the other.
I feel that society uses various defense mechanisms to ‘numb’ themselves from all of the pain. When you log onto your Facebook, Twitter or watch the news, you will most likely hear about a tragedy. With that, you may see hundreds of opinions from people all over the world, including friends and family. Most of the time, it is extremely difficult to believe that such an incident could occur. It is easy to log off of social media and turn off your computer. This then allows for us to forget about what we saw and go on with our daily lives.
I understand that in times like this, when the world is full of violence, fear and hatred, we have to numb ourselves in order to cope. For the simple fact that if we couldn’t numb ourselves, reality would be unbearable. I hope to see the day where the news is full of positivity. I hope to see the day where instead of spreading fear across the media, we send love. I hope to see the day where people are not targeted for being themselves or hated for loving someone. Most of all, I hope to feel safe in the country that I was born and raised in and feel free to accomplish my goals and live out the ‘American dream.’
