I don’t know about you, but I am so exhausted by everyone grabbing their virtual pitchfork about every injustice they hear about.
Hear me out, I am not trying to take away from the atrocities of these terrible wrongdoings around the world. I am just saying that you aren’t saving anyone by posting it on your feed.
Our socials are filled with VIRTUE SIGNALING and need more VIRTUE.
This rant was inspired by a podcast I recently listened to called “No Stupid Questions” and the title of it was “How can we get more virtue and less ‘virtue signaling’.”
That really resonated with me because as a public policy major, I feel guilty when I am unaware of social injustices around the world. Whenever I read a friend’s share of another terrible thing going on, I feel like more people should know about it and I should share.
Lately I have stopped sharing all together. I really had to ask myself why I was sharing. Was it because I truly felt sharing would help the cause? No. My platform is so miniscule that the odds are not in my favor… Yes it only takes a butterfly to start a hurricane.. Or something like that, but let’s be realistic here.
I was mostly sharing because I wanted other people to see that I care about these terrible things. & that is exactly what virtue signaling is and it is not helpful at all. & even though I had to take an uncomfortable look at myself, I am not the only one.
Does this mean I am not going to ever post any social activism ever again? No, but I will stay in my lane and post about the activism I am doing in real life that makes a difference.
We all can’t advocate for every cause that comes across our newsfeeds, that is just an irresponsible use of energy.
It is smarter for an individual to focus on a problem that is near and dear to them then have them spread out all over trying to get onboard with multiple movements. By focusing on an targeted need people may take you more serious. Even further, by posting your own actions to further your cause, other than re-sharing, you might have a better chance of inspiring others.
Virtue signaling is not going to be the motive behind every injustice awareness post you see. Some posts do have great motives behind them such as normalizing uncomfortable conversations and encouraging people to speak up about their own experiences. I wanted to make it clear that there is a distinction between virtue signaling and virtue.
It is IMPORTANT to be informed about what is going on in the world, but before you share please think about the real reason behind it. Also be aware that not everyone has the mental bandwidth to read about the social injustices around the world, and do not shame them for not wanting to be informed. In our quick information world it is possible to know about every atrocity in the world, but we need to remember that it is not normal.
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