A Message To The Fake Instagram Accounts Claiming To Help People in Crisis
Post something to help, not hurt.
Recently, there have been numerous accounts on popping up on Instagram claiming to help people around the world by donating money and bring awareness if the user shares a post on their story or likes the post. This has been occurring with numerous important issues the past few months, such as saving the environment and now Sudan.
As the political crisis is occurring in Sudan, Instagram has been seeing numerous accounts such as, **"@SudanMealProject" which are racking more than 500 thousand followers in one week. The account promises to aid Sudan during the crisis, as stated in their bio, "We're committed to donating up to 100,000 meals to Sudanese civilians." The account's post says that "For every story repost this post gets, we will provide one meal to Sudanese children, and you will help spread awareness on what's happening in Sudan." This led to a widespread of many users reposting the account on their stories.
What is wrong in this, you might ask? Well, these accounts are using a world crisis to gain followers, likes, and fame. They all have no intention of helping in any way, shape, or form. If you take a closer look at these accounts, half of them have no proof of donating anything and have very little information about their goals. It's disgusting how people can use a crisis to gain popularity and attention.
A recent interview done by The Atlantic with UNICEF's communications specialist, Joe English, said how "It's incredibly difficult to send meals to Sudan."
This is significant proof that Instagram accounts such as "@SudanMealProject" have no intention of doing any real good.
In addition to reposting and sharing posts, many Instagram users and fake accounts have been changing their profile picture to blue. The blue color is to bring awareness and respect Mohamed Hashim Mattar, who was killed by protesters. Since his profile picture during his time of death was blue, numerous users changed their picture to blue as a sign of unanimity and solidarity. The blue color has a meaning behind it, and fake Instagram accounts using it to gain views is very disrespectful.
To all the fake Instagram accounts, stop doing what you're doing because the attention is not helping your own life or helping fix problems.
If you see any of these fake accounts, please report them immediately. The best way to help Sudan is by speaking out and help actual organizations such as UNICEF.
Click here to donate to help save the children in Sudan:Help Save Children's Lives | UNICEF
** @SudanMealProject has just recently been taken down on Instagram.
I Limited My Social Media Usage And I Challenge You To, Too
My worth is not defined by the amount of likes I get.
Every morning at 8 a.m., my alarm goes off, I roll over, and the first thing I do is check my Snapchat only to open a bunch of pictures of the top of someone's head, or the wall, or — my favorite — a black screen. This is something we're all guilty of, myself included. We all know that social media is becoming an addiction amongst us, so why do we still use them in an unhealthy way? Why are our friendships defined by who has the longest streak? Why are our perceptions of others based on the most perfectly posed presentations of people? Why is our self-worth dependent on the number of double taps or shares or comments?
My world used to revolve around social media.
Every time I posted a picture on Instagram, I would constantly refresh to see how many likes I had accumulated. The worst part about that is I would get upset if I didn't get any likes in the seconds between each refresh.
If I got bored or had some downtime between classes, I would spend hours just scrolling through the same posts, hoping to find something different.
So much of my life was wrapped up in the superficiality of social media posts to the point where I no longer knew who I was. I would see pictures of my friends who ended up at the same college and feel left out, I would see girls from high school joining sororities, I would see people looking so stunning and having so much fun, and I let that be the thing that influenced how I felt.
Social media consumed me. It made me forget all the wonderful things I have in my life. It made me value a photo opportunity more than just enjoying the moment for what it is. Let me tell you that a moment is no less valuable just because it isn't visually appealing.
I've recently started using the Screen Time feature on my iPhone. I set a two hour per day limit on my social media usage, and when that time is up, I can no longer open the apps. Since then, I've been spending more time face-to-face with the people I care about. I've reconnected with old hobbies. I feel less stressed. I stopped comparing myself to others. I learned to be happy with myself.
I limit my social media usage because all the time I've spent aimlessly scrolling through Instagram is time I could've spent going for a walk and enjoying the warmth of Spring.
I limit my social media usage because I value face-to-face interaction. I value hugs and laughter and all the other things you can't get from a screen.
I limit my social media usage because it hurts my feelings when other people are on their phones when I'm trying to talk to them so how can it be right that I do that to someone else?
I think about how dependent on social media we have become, and it makes me so grateful that the sun is too bright to see our phone screens outside and that the mountains raise too high to have good cell service. I'm grateful that my friends make me laugh so hard that I don't even think to check my phone.
So, I challenge you to separate yourself from your social media. Even if it's just for a day. See how your life changes.