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5 Actual Ways Social Media Saved Lives. Bustle.

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5 Actual Ways Social Media Saved Lives. Bustle.

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Many of the stories around social media and its ability to do good focus on individual tales of kindness. Twitter and Facebook have seen their fair share both of people reaching out in dangerous situations and good Samaritans working to locate and help those in need. (Though the actual Samaritans had to shelve their own app, Samaritans Radar, which was designed to pick up suicidal ideation expressed by Twitter users through specific phrases and alert those close to them, after people raised privacy concerns.) But the bigger picture, and possibly the future of social media platforms as serious tools in situations of human crisis, includes organizations and governments. We're still trying to figure out how to use the power of interconnected social networks to help as many people as possible, but it's definitely not just about sympathetic hashtags.

There are lots of downsides to using Twitter and the other big hitters to try to mobilize help, spread information, connect people with loved ones or the authorities, locate supplies, and other possible functions in bad situations (like terrorist attacks). The fact that they're open to everybody means people can spread misinformation and cause panic. Privacy concerns raise definite issues. And a lot of their usefulness is dependent on their availability, which is particularly precarious if people are, say, in a cyclone or crossing the Aegean Sea in an unstable smuggling boat. But we're increasingly seeing calls to use them as effectively as possible, whether it's spreading information about incoming storms or crowdsourcing medicines for a national drug crisis.

Yes, changing your avatar or retweeting some touching link may help raise awareness, but on the worldwide scale, these networks might be a new way to help us through our darker moments. Here are five ways in which social media has saved actual lives.

1. Rescuing 10,000 Workers From Starvation

It's being reported this Monday morning that social media is responsible for bringing the plight of thousands of starving fired workers in Saudi Arabia to the attention of the Indian Embassy. Falling oil prices in the country have allegedly led companies employing thousands of foreign workers, many of them Indian nationals, to withhold pay for up to seven months and fire large chunks of their workforce without their back wages. Without their salaries, the 10,000 Indian workers had been starving. But the Indian Government distributed over 16 tons of food on Saturday night, and has issued orders not to let anybody starve - largely, it seems, because businessman Imran Khohkar tweeted Indian's foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, with a photograph of 800 starving Indians in Jeddah to alert her to the situation.

Swaraj herself is keeping people updated via Twitter, reassuring starving workers and the rest of India that the situation will be handled. The government is now organizing airlifts to bring home workers who can't afford the airfare. Obviously, this situation is developing, but it's a high-profile example of the sheer power that one small social media gesture can have.

2. Broadcasting Deadly Weather

It's not just the time after disasters that's important when it comes to preparation and survival; it's the warnings beforehand. And social media is becoming a vital tool to broadcast weather information which indicates high risk, particularly in America. AccuWeather, the National Weather Service, and other meteorological organizations now have protocols to send out warnings of tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, and other highly threatening events to people who might be at risk. The one big problem with keeping media updates current during big, dangerous events is maintaining internet connections, but that's also on the radar of big social media companies. It's been reported that Facebook and other behemoths are investigating things like stratospheric balloons and drones to try to keep internet access constant even in devastated areas. (Though what a tornado would do to a drone is perhaps not worth thinking about.)

3. Assisting Refugees

The world is now aware of how highly precarious it is to journey across the Aegean Sea, and migrants intent on making it from Syria and other war-torn countries to Europe and safety have made it en masse. The boat trip is often deeply treacherous and deadly, which is why civilians are now attempting to use social media to help refugees survive the journey without drowning. A private Facebook group run by former refugees provides hour-to-hour updates on wave height and weather, contacts refugees via mobile phones to provide navigational advice and help with engine problems, and gets the Coast Guard to their location if they founder. (Which is common; 3,000 migrants have drowned in the Aegean this year.)

4. Helping Find Lifesaving Treatment

The year 2016 is proving to be a dangerous one to be seriously ill in Venezuela. A healthcare crisis has gripped the country, with huge shortages of basic medicine, clean water, and food in hospitals. The country's government is refusing international medical aid, saying that it's a violation of their sovereignty. With no other options, people with serious diseases are turning to social media to obtain their medication in any way they can, begging for those who have expired, leftover, or discounted drugs to provide them to those in need and forestall the necessity of going to the country's black market. The BBC reports that hashtags like #ElCancerNoEspera ("Cancer Does Not Wait") and #donatumedicamento ("Donate Your Medicine") are rampant in the country, but relying on the kindness of others for medicine that should be provided by medical professionals will only go so far.

5. Helping People Survive Natural Disasters

Everybody, from Google to Facebook to aid organizations themselves, has started to investigate the power of social media to provide assistance in the aftermath of massive natural disasters or in war zones. It's clear that people power is viewed as one of the easiest, fastest ways of disseminating information and understanding patterns in vast situations of crisis. TechRadar reported in 2013 that natural disasters and terrorism were now shaping new developments on the social media landscape. Twitter's Alert service, Google's Person Finder, and Facebook's Safety Check are all designed to help people inform their families that they're safe and locate others in chaos.

Governments have also been berated for not using social media as a tool to provide alerts or information in the wake of disasters. After a massive landslide hit Sri Lanka in May 2016, the government was criticized for not having mechanisms in place to share updates, tips, and places to get flood relief. The slack had to be picked up by ordinary citizens, but it was thought that the disaster would have been less deadly if official channels knew how to use social media properly. Hopefully, that will only continue to improve.

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5 Ways Social Media Has Saved Actual Lives

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Many of the stories around social media and its ability to do good focus on individual tales of kindness. Twitter and Facebook have seen their fair share both of people reaching out in dangerous situations and good Samaritans working to locate and...

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"It's not enough that you use the product consciously 

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"It's not enough that you use the product consciously 

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Teetering on a ledge over a 1,000ft drop, the only thing keeping Sandi Allcock from certain death was the olive tree which had abruptly halted her 350ft plunge.

She had 20 broken bones, the rocks under her were collapsing and rescuers had no idea where she was. Facebook became her only hope of survival.

Reliving her horror, Sandi, 55, says: "It was terrifying, I spent precious moments trying to describe my view to emergency services but was getting nowhere.

"Putting a photo of where I was on Facebook was a way to quickly communicate where I was - I knew someone was bound to recognise my location or know someone who would."

Her quick thinking paid off when a local scuba diver identified the spot and told rescue teams where to find her.

Sandi had flown to the holiday island of Crete in February 2014 after being made redundant.

She stayed with her sister Denise, 61, and had been there for four months when she went for that fateful walk along the coastline in June.

Her casual clifftop stroll turned to horror as the ground suddenly gave way beneath her feet.

She says: "When I opened my eyes, I was teetering on a ledge with a 1,000ft drop beneath me.

"My arms were stuck in two olive bushes, which had stopped me from toppling to my death.

"It was terrifying. I could only move my right arm - the rest of my body was in agony."

As terror and pain washed over her, IT worker Sandi groped in her pocket for her iPhone and called emergency services to come to her aid.

But she could only describe cliffs and sea. Recalling her frustration, she said: "All I could tell anyone was that I was facing the sea, above a massive rocky drop."

Without any clear identifiable landmarks, the rescue team was unable to figure out exactly where she was. Sandi was becoming dehydrated after an hour-and-a-half in the 25C heat, and her battery was running low.

She was getting desperate. "I suddenly thought about taking a photograph of my location," she said. "I could barely move so I had to take the snap at an obscure angle. I hoped it would be enough."

But when she tried to text the photo through to the rescue team, the file wouldn't attach.

Terrified the stoney ledge would not hold her weight for much longer, Sandi decided to upload the photo to Facebook and changed her settings from private to public. The rescue team got an English-speaking hotel receptionist to liaise with her.

"I told her what I'd done, and she promised to ask everyone around her to look at the photo," she said. "I had no idea if it would work, but I was desperate."

Incredibly, within minutes the receptionist called Sandi back to tell her the place had been recognised by a scuba instructor who had recently taken divers out in that area. He contacted the emergency services to say he knew where to find her.

An agonising two hours after her horror plunge, the rescue team arrived and abseiled down to her after spotting her bright blue T-shirt.

After a delicate rescue operation which took eight hours, she was taken to hospital - where she was told she was lucky to be alive.

Shattered Sandi had fractured 20 bones, including eight ribs, her pelvis and both shoulders.

She had seven spinal fractures and had dislocated her collar- bone. She had also torn a number of tendons and had contracted pneumonia.

Doctors said that Sandi was incredibly lucky to have survived the fall and be found before the ledge gave way - and complimented her quick thinking in uploading the photo to Facebook.

She spent three weeks in hospital on the Greek island, and it was another three months before she was given the all-clear to fly home to Crewe, Cheshire, to complete her convalescence.

A year on, Sandi is still recovering from her ordeal - and credits social media for saving her: "Nobody would have found me if it hadn't been for Facebook."

Now, she says she would never go off trekking without her iPhone and a full battery. She said: "If I hadn't had my phone with me that day, I have no doubt that I would have died on that ledge.

"People criticise tourists who upload too many holiday snaps on to Facebook - but this one saved my life."

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'Facebook saved my life after I plunged 350ft off clifftop on holiday'

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Teetering on a ledge over a 1,000ft drop, the only thing keeping Sandi Allcock from certain death was the olive tree which had abruptly halted her 350ft plunge. She had 20 broken bones, the rocks under her were collapsing and rescuers had no idea where she was.

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It's often said that it takes a village to raise a baby but I'd wager this phrase is just as pertinent when applied to mothers: it takes a village to raise a mother. In previous years, when child-rearing was a more communal activity and many generations of a family lived close by, there was an organic structure in place to mind babies and, arguably more importantly, the mothers.

e lost this for a time in the latter half of the 20th century but thankfully we are now remaking it online. I now depend not on the kindness of strangers, but on mums on Instagram. I find there's a real sense of community among mothers online, which happily goes against the rampant "mommy wars" narrative we so often hear about.

On a bad day with my toddler, I can vent on my Stories and usually get a tsunami of responses from encouragement to advice to simply solidarity. With Instagram, I have a constantly growing tribe of women ready to reach across the virtual void to say "me too!" to everything from "I feel like the worst mum in the world today!" to "Anyone else just answer the door to the postman with one boob flopped out?".

And the best thing about this gang is that nothing shocks them. Once you've been in the trenches of motherhood for a while, you have seen some sh*t. Forget Band of Brothers, the band of mothers are tougher, funnier and have stronger stomachs.

This band of mothers have been my ride or dies, particularly in these pandemic times. Never before have I relied so much on the mothers of social media for reassurance, solidarity and levity.

Before I had children, I had certain ideas about children - all of which became instantly irrelevant the very second one of these things was handed to me in a hectic delivery room. BC (before children), I would see parents out with their kids pushing the babies in buggies facing forwards and away from them.

'Not me,' I'd think smugly. 'I will always have mine facing me, as I keep up an unending stream of engaging and edifying conversation with them' - despite that being exhausting and them being, ya know, just weeks old and barely sentient. Similarly, I'd see parents in restaurants with their adorable spawn plugged into iPhones. 'Terrible,' I'd grimace. 'I'll never do that.'

Soothers. Sweets. Coke. YouTube. Co-sleeping. All arbitrary notions I held about what was 'bad parenting' in the face of absolutely no idea what was coming down the line for me. Now I indulge in, nay cling to there for dear life. These are the crutches that see us through the relentless and occasionally rewarding maelstrom of parenthood. A big crutch for me and, I imagine, most other millennial parents is my phone. It's a parenting comfort blanket, especially during our current situation. BC, I'd look at parents glued to their phones while their kids played on the monkey bars and shake my head. "It's a disgrace," an older lady once commented from beside me on the park bench and I agreed sanctimoniously.

Now Present Me would like to give Past Me a little slap and a stern talking to. Judgment of parents and most particularly mothers is not, of course, unique to 27-year-old me. The internet is awash with it from think pieces about "over-sharenting" to open letters of the "To The Mum On Her Phone" variety. Every new generation of mothering looks so wildly different to the previous, that it's natural for each to think that their approach is superior. On closer analysis however, every generation of mothers have had their own crutches. In the 50s, housewives had amphetamine prescriptions; give us our damn smartphones, I say.

For my first baby, I was still operating on analogue mode. No smartphone, no social media, no apps telling me what fresh hell I could expect from the newborn arsenal of developmental leaps (hello Wonder Weeks!). I was 28 and had no friends with children. No one in my family had kids, parenting was something I could only observe at a distance in the parks and on TV.

The isolation of my first year as a mother was quite devastating. I operated just about. I engaged in a committed pretence at being OK when, in fact, I was trapped in an apparently unending season of fear, guilt, loneliness and self-doubt. I was convinced I was an aberration because I was struggling to adjust to my new life. Films, TV and magazines at this point just seemed to confirm this, with celeb new mums bouncing from baby to gym and back. Where were the women crying in the shower while the baby cried in its bouncer on the bathroom floor? Where were the women with nipples like skinned knees, crying through the terminal newborn nights? I could see none of my reality reflected there.

This analogue parenting is something that Kara and Lucy, friends and co-founders of Mum Talks - monthly events and workshops for women - experienced when they had children.

"When we both had our girls, social media was not really a thing! Facebook was there but not used like we consume it now."

Lucy, who recently had baby Charlie, has noticed the contrast. "There is a lot more mindless scrolling when she is exhausted!" laughs Kara. "But on the upside... there is an amazing supportive community online and you can usually get advice on anything at any time! Also when she is up in the middle of the night, it has made her feel less alone."

I white-knuckled that season. The postnatal depression, as I finally recognised it to be, receded and I surfaced. I started to make the mum friends I so desperately needed. And I got a smartphone! Or, as I see it now: a lifeline.

The irony is not lost on me that it was in the notoriously deceitful squares of Instagram that I began to find women sharing their experiences of motherhood unfiltered.

One of the first of these I spotted was broadcaster Louise McSharry, who shared a snap of her first son, Sam, with the caption: "I'm a zen Earth Mother now guys. (Not pictured: Vat of hormonal tears)."

It probably sounds incredibly naive but it was these women who helped me to recognise that what I had was postnatal depression and not some total lack of maternal instinct or sinister character defect.

Pre-Covid, mothers were coping with an epidemic of a different kind: failing on every front. The potency of mother-guilt is such that even at the moment, in a pandemic, we're worrying that we are not doing enough for our kids. Not enough fresh air, not enough home-school, not enough vegetables. Not enough.

As I got more into Instagram, I found that honesty like Louise's was thankfully not the rhetoric of a few outliers but actually part of a new swell of women's voices describing the chaotic, difficult and often joyful experience of motherhood.

It's something Erica, who is mum to three-year-old Callum, certainly noticed: "When I used to scroll through pictures of mums with perfect make-up, sitting in spotless houses and cradling their perfect baby, I always felt really down because I was far from perfect. But in recent years, women are sharing a more realistic side of motherhood.

" We're seeing that everyone has different struggles and it's OK to talk about how tired you are, or how difficult it can be to juggle work-life and motherhood. And I think people are really welcoming it."

Women also really welcomed her Instagram account, MumTribe. In just a couple of years, the community that began as an online space with real life meet-ups, now collaborates with business and services, has a podcast and over 20,000 followers and 21 groups around the country.

"I think mums were looking for a space where they could be themselves," Erica explains. "Where they wouldn't be judged and where it was OK to speak openly about their experience. I personally put a lot of work into it, though without the help of our fantastic ambassadors and volunteers, I wouldn't be here to talk about it today!"

There is a huge appetite for these online spaces, as so many mums find socialising post kids can fall by the wayside - though not a problem right now, of course. Sinead Cuddihy felt nervous launching her Instagram bookclub but, again, she found the uptake was incredible.

"I'd wanted to join a book club for some time," says Sinead, mum to Rian (2) and with a second baby on the way this summer. "I figured Instagram would be a good way to do it. I suggested it on my personal Instagram account and just one person said they'd join. So I set it up anyway, and less than a year later we have just over 2,300 members!

"The idea was to get people like myself back reading after having children, by sharing what we were reading and encouraging each other to read for 30 minutes a day with the hashtag #TiredMammy30minutes. We also have meet-ups to discuss that month's book, though this will be done online instead for the foreseeable."

Getting back to ourselves is something many women grapple with after having kids and whether it's having a medicinal moan, taking up Pilates or joining a bookclub, it's so important to still feel connected to our non-mother selves. Kara and Lucy wanted to serve this need with Mum Talks.

"We felt there was a lack of events and things to do as the women that we still were, there were so many amazing baby groups that we attended but nothing for us. We still wanted to feel we could add to conversations and continue to be inspired by other mums who were working or had set up their own business."

Now Mum Talks is exploring the online potential for their talks which sees speakers like Facebook's Head of Ireland for Small and Medium Business, Helen Smyth, sustainability advocate, Pat Kane, and broadcasters like Louise McSharry and Alison Curtis discuss career and life after kids.

The connections I've forged online have made me feel normal in the boundless anxiety, occasional boredom and exquisite joy of motherhood.

Some of these women don't know I exist but in sharing their reality have cheered me up or reassured me.

Some, I've confided in despite never meeting them and many are my friends offline now. I know they all give me a sense of friendship and support that I'll always be grateful for.

As Sinead says of reading, but she could in fact be describing any of the online connections forged by these brilliant communities: "It's a real comfort and a form of escapism and as a mum you need that sometimes."

Hell yes, you do.
Sophie White's latest novel, Unfiltered, is out now
Where to find like-minded mums

⬤ Meet-ups offline, online chats and a regular podcast available on iTunes and Spotify makes the @mumtribeireland a fun and relaxed community for new mums. Visit mumtribeireland.com and follow @mumtribeireland

⬤ Tired Mammy Bookclub Follow this buzzing online community to get back into reading and make friends. Follow @tiredmammybookclub and take part in their daily #tiredmammy30minutes

⬤ Mum Talks Follow @mum_talks to join upcoming panels online and stay abreast of future events. Visit mumtalks.ie

Health & Living

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'Band of mothers: how Insta-mums saved my soul'

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It's often said that it takes a village to raise a baby but I'd wager this phrase is just as pertinent when applied to mothers: it takes a village to raise a mother.

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“Putting a photo of where I was on Facebook was a way to quickly communicate where I was – I knew someone was bound to recognize my location or know someone who would.”

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Might Help?

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Social media is not always a good thing because people make others feel bad based on their comments.

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'Social media saved my life,' says man of the caring responses ...www.thestar.com › life › health_wellness › 2015/04/09

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'Social media saved my life,' says man of the caring responses ...www.thestar.com › life › health_wellness › 2015/04/09

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 Smartphone addiction explained: A ‘ding’ on our phone equals dopamine in the brain - TomoNews

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 Smartphone addiction explained: A ‘ding’ on our phone equals dopamine in the brain - TomoNews

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¨we seek likes,followers,and messages because they provide a rewarding feeling of validation and belonging.¨

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajagrawal/2016/03/18/its-not-all-bad-the-social-good-of-social-media/?sh=443229e8756f John festa

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because when i was stressed i would just listen to music and watching videos.

Kevin Pineda

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c -Isaiah Scott

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Smartphone addiction explained: A ‘ding’ on our phone equals dopamine in the brain - TomoNews

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Smartphone addiction explained: A ‘ding’ on our phone equals dopamine in the brain - TomoNews

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¨These rewarding interactions function as positive reinforcement, strengthening our desire to seek even more from our smartphones and thus, driving our addiction.¨
Cristian Bonilla.

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"It's being reported this Monday morning that social media is responsible for bringing the plight of thousands of starving fired workers in Saudi Arabia to the attention of the Indian Embassy." - Isaiah, took it from Reanna.

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¨Social media is not always an online distraction or procrastination platform.¨ - Isaiah
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajagrawal/2016/03/18/its-not-all-bad-the-social-good-of-social-media/?sh=443229e8756f

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¨Social media isn't a tool that's just waiting to be used¨

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¨Social media isn't a tool that's just waiting to be used¨

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C.B

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How the power of social media made all the difference for one kid.

In the world of instant Instagram celebrities, famous Dr. Phil rebels,

Image: thehollywoodunlocked.com

and relentless negative reports from seemingly every major news source, it's refreshing to come across those "feel-good" stories we all know so well, that just happens to be so far and in between in present-day 2019.

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In the world of instant Instagram celebrities, famous Dr. Phil rebels, and relentless negative reports from seemingly every major news source, it's refreshing to come across those "feel-good" stories we all know so well, that just happens to be so far and in between in present-day 2019.