07/08/2026
It's one of those days when I've woken up to a barrage of sad posts and headlines. Diagnoses, deaths, dark times... sometimes they can flood your feed. And I am not suggesting that these shouldn't be posted. There is a lot to be said for the expression "doom scrolling". But how much impact do we allow this to have and is it the right impact? How many of us:
βοΈ Feel saddened, shocked, disheartened for a moment or two then scroll to the next post ...
βοΈ Feel gratitude in the moment for our own good health and fortune ...
βοΈ Start to worry about the "what ifs" - what if that happens to me or mine? ...
βοΈ Feel all of these things and send healing thoughts & energy to those affected as well as to ourselves and our own loved ones ...
βοΈ Make a conscious effort to live each moment and each day knowing that we can't take anything for granted ...
βοΈ Set aside a little bit to donate to charities that help make a difference ...
This is not a pious post. My first responses most often fall into the first 3 listed (especially number 3!). But if there is to be some deal of good to come about as a result of social media, then it has to be from raising awareness, bringing people together, sharing compassion and empathy.
Often, we are quick to "doom" technology as mind-numbing, with the suggestion that it makes us less feeling.
On the other hand, the world has never seen shared humanity on such a large scale as it exists now on the web.
So as your finger hovers to slide the screen up, engage with what you have read. Send a thought, a prayer, a message to a loved one, a reminder to yourself... what greater purpose could we have in this life than to make a difference in it. π