Nowadays, the old adage, "sharing is caring" is no longer hold sacred. Though sometimes we seemed to be overly used it and it became cliche, but it seemed that people did not held true to the meaning of 'sharing is caring' especially in this world of social media.
I don't know about your country, but in Malaysia, people like to up-date everything in Facebook, whether it was to whine, to celebrate, or just a simple status telling everyone and anyone that they are in love.
And the worst part of putting everything in Facebook is they like to 'share' everything without checking the validity of the fact. They are taking the 'sharing is caring' to the highest echelon, but in actual fact is they are sharing false information. To make it worst, because of the widespread usage of WhatsApp, this information spread faster than the rocket.
I like to quote two examples of how Malaysians' the so-called 'caring' is actually 'scaring' and 'damaging'. Not so long ago, there was some unrest happened in the capital city when two youths were arrested by the police when they started a fight and damaged some properties of a trader in a shopping mall because they alleged that the trader cheated them. Within a few minutes, it seemed that the news went viral in the social medias. Everyone wanted to be the first to 'share' the news. Everyone wanted to put their 'point of views'. Amidst all this, some irresponsible people 'played' the racial issues and disturbed the harmony of the country.
Then, when the story seemed to die down, a photo which allegedly showing another trader in the same mall 'caught cheating' customers circulated in the Facebook and shared through WhatsApp. Once again, the 'caring' nature of many Malaysians actually was 'scaring' because in actual fact the photo, though it was true that the trader was cheating his customers, but it happened in Singapore, and not Malaysia.
Another example happened a few days ago. Suddenly, people seemed to be competing on who will be the first to share a photo alleging that a person found a sharp pin inside a pill prescribed by a Government Hospital. Everyone was shocked and concern. The photos spread like a wild fire. But once again, some irresponsible 'caring' person shared the photo without checking the source of the story. Though, the photo seemed to be genuine, but it happened in another country, and not Malaysia.
What I can deduced is that, in our haste to be a keyboard warrior, and caring citizen, some people just shared some information without some responsibility. In the social media frenzy, it is no longer 'sharing is caring' but 'sharing is scaring'. It may even damaging.
Comments
Dear Sewar, social media can bring out the worst in people. But at the same time, bring out so many positive elements too. It's depend on how we use it.
I agree with you my dearest. Unfortunately, social media made every thing around us, whether our homes,or our rooms,or our neighbors' houses or our countries, even our minds made of cleared glass. With bad use of social media our life lost its brightness. What a pity!!!! God bless you.
Bala, and this viral virus is spreading too fast, and every where. That's a scary thought. It seems it affects everyone. Some people may have the IQ, but definitely lack the EQ part.
Rightly said...U can call it as "Viral Virus"...
Sharing without checking its authenticity is really a dumb thing... No doubt those who use this social media are all educated enough to use all these advanced techniques but fails to apply their mind on the pros n cons of sharing a sensational issues...
Josue, you're right. Hiding behind the screen is making those people feel 'distant' from their acts or comments. They don't think that their acts or comments may injure someone else on the other sides. You're aptly said it, it's a messy mix of 'the first one to share', 'everybody does it' and nobody knows me'.
Sandra, it's not the lack of love, or even the lack of work. I believed it's the needs to be the 'first' in everything. To be the first to 'know'. The first to 'share'. The first in everything. We are taking the idea of competition to the next level.
Kevin Liu, you summed up it perfectly. It is an abuse of freedom and it is out of control.
Onee-chan, we are part of the social, but it doesn't mean we can condone some of those irresponsible behaviours. But you're right. We need to be cautious, maybe extra cautious nowadays.
Evangelina, I guess when people sit behind the screen, their sense of responsibility and critical sense diminish by the seconds. That is why some of them easily fall into the trap of reading the headlines before checking the whole story. As far as they're concerned, "I need to tell everyone about this matter, and damn the consequences"
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