On Thursday February 24, 2022, Russia began its formal invasion of Ukraine.
Since the news of the invasion reached the rest of the world, social media has exploded with cries to “pray for Ukraine” along with relevant articles, videos of terrified Ukrainians, and even poems. My personal feed has become a blur of bright announcements for Greek life philanthropy events, photos of influencers and their perfect lunches, and the sound of air raid sirens overlaid by the occasional explosion on Ukrainian livestreams.
What does it mean to witness mass suffering over the social internet? To hear a child’s scream as the camera pans to the missile, traveling almost in slow motion, that just barely misses their building? How do we reconcile our own relative comfort as witnesses, watching rather than experiencing this tragedy?
I know that it must be somewhat comforting for Ukrainians to see so much overwhelming support on social media, but I can’t help but focus on the futility of it all. I can’t help but be angry at myself and my peers posting calls for peace next to a repost of our favorite celebrity.
I know there’s not much I can do with my anger, so for now I can only watch. Watch nurses in Dnipro, Ukraine care for newborns that belong in the local hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. Newborns who are instead sheltering in the hospital’s basement while the city is under threat of Russian missile attacks (which The New York Times shared via Instagram Reels).
Watch as a boy in Kharkiv plays a beautiful white grand piano as Russian troops move into the city (from The Washington Post via Instagram Reels).
Social media will never solve global conflicts but I’m trying to believe that it can be a tool. A tool for increasing empathy and awareness of injustice and human suffering around the world.