Heart Emoji on FB

[chipauchoc]

To think that ❤️ on women's FB status will not 'raise breast cancer awareness'.
Nor will no make up selfies, or sharing the colour of your knickers and all the other 'awareness' campaigns. Who invents this stuff, and how do the charities benefit?
Who remembers what the most famous one, the ice bucket challenge, was 'raising awareness' for?
Breast cancer is not the only cancer.
Men get breast cancer too.

Ice bucket challenge was raising awareness for ALS. I'm sure that last year they said they were able to make advances with the money raised, so I'm not sure that that one is a good example.

I agree with you about the rest though. Particularly the pointless heart.

Agree. I've been silently judging friends who post the heart.

I agree with you until your last sentence. Women are choosing to share the heart emoji for breast cancer, men are both free and able to do the same. But they don't. Why do you think women raising awareness for something is a slight on male issues?

I agree and disagree. If it makes someone stop think and donate say £1 when the otherwise wouldn't have then it's doing it's job. But I agree it's not actively doing anything for cancer sufferers. What I do think is silly is when people do a sponsored whatever. So they raise money to do what they want to do and then some of the proceeds go to the charity. Granted many pay for the activity themselves. But then many don't either....if people want to donate to a charity they can and will and do it directly

I don't get the point of that sort of thing either. What are you supposed to do if a heart makes you 'aware' for a moment - give yourself a quick examination?

An emoji which reminded people to do some pelvic floor exercises might be useful though.

I shared a post about how to check your breasts instead - I said it was more useful than a heart emoji. Been shared ten times now, I feel popular for once lol. But seriously having been affected by breast cancer I think it's far more important to know how to check than posting a heart.

Two of my friends who are recovering from breast cancer have mailed us all and asked that if we are to share anything about breast cancer awareness could we share the pictures showing the changes to look for in your breasts and how to check yourself, rather than the hearts.

Crosspost saoralbagubrath

Ice bucket challenge was for MND. I remember it well, it was a very effective campaign, not sure that illustrates your point op.

Ice bucket challenge raised a significant sum of money for research into ALS, I donated and had a letter a year later saying what a difference it had made. Guardian article

The hearts thing though, I had no idea what it was for so it had zero affect on my awareness.

Does my head in too - the worst are the "I'm moving to Las Vegas for three years" bollocks and then when people reply with comments they get some inane private message saying "ha ha you fell for it!" Bollocks is it raising awareness of anything, other than that the poster is a twat.

If you're serious about raising awareness or funds for cancer care make a fucking donation or volunteer for a charity.

Alisvolatpropiis See, you're actually wrong. This is part of the reason it's bullshit. This is the typical message you get sent if you ask someone what the heart means:

"Hello, can you put a ❤ on your wall, without comment, only a heart, then send this message to your female contacts. After putting one ❤ on the wall of the person who sent you this message. If anyone asks why you have so many hearts on your wall do not answer. It is for women only to remember its the week of breast cancer prevention! ❤ Check your boobies!!"

Firstly, breast cancer awareness MONTH is October. Secondly, this is clearly "women only" as if men don't get breast cancer or aren't affected by family members with breast cancer.

I shared a post about how to check your breasts instead - I said it was more useful than a heart emoji. - I did this too and asked that those who posted hearts would they please consider posting information alongside it. In the message I got to post a heart it was all very secret from men, women only type of thing. I also said on my status I disagreed with that and that it affects men too. I really dislike the other one I seem to get all the time about posting bra sizes and the like, it baffles me to be honest.

If anyone asks why you have so many hearts on your wall do not answer.

Oooh, it's all a big girly secret! Aren't we so COOL!! Don't let other people in on the secret, LOL!!! Cuz that's how you raise awareness innit hun, you DON'T TELL ANYONE!!!

Just fuck off with the stupid hearts.

There have been a couple of threads on this recently and I totally agree. Pointless bullshit.

I either ignore - and judge - FB friends who do this, or replay saying it would be more uselful if they posted a link to how to check your breasts.

FFS. FB inanity.

The viral picture of the lemons was a far better way of raising awareness of breast cancer:

It doesn't raise awareness when you've no idea what is going on does it?! A friend put a heart on FB yesterday and I am now guessing it is to do with this cancer awareness thing. I thought maybe it was a message to their husband, an anniversary or something.

Another one I saw was - will any of my friends copy and post this on to their FB profile for 1 hour. Don't share it, you must copy and paste it. it was meant to be about mental health awareness. But didn't actually say anything about mental health.

I'm disappointed in the friends who have posted these actually as I thought they would realise that they're kind of chain letters or whatever the online equivalent is.

They are the modern equivalent of chain letters. I refuse to share/post them.

Same with the pictures of sick children that ask you to post "Amen"

The never ending profile pictures with Stop Cancer, Stand Upto Cancer, Hate Cancer etc wreck my head, I don't know a soul whose life has not been affected by cancer in some shape or form, I refuse to believe anyone claims to like this horrendous, lethal disease, but I struggle to understand what these slogans achieve.Maybe it's you doing your bit from your keyboard trying to show some empathy but the cynical part of me thinks it's another opportunity to post a new popular picture.Or you just click the button because fbook encourages you to and it's something so close to home that you join in. Either way, it's not for me.

what a load of
Old
Shite I say

Thank god for
MN where common sense prevails

Makes me mental.

Is anyone NOT aware of breast cancer?? 1 in 8 women get it. Most people have, say, minimum 100 females in their reasonably close social circle. So AT LEAST 12 people you know have it, will get it, have already had it. Chances are, you're already well aware of it and to some degree affected... a bloody emoji on facebook does very little to change awareness levels.

It makes me even more bonkers when people say "well, it's a cause close to my heart because my mum/aunt/friend/gran had it". You and EVERYONE ELSE, mate. (I can say this, coz me, my sister and my mum and my gran had it, so it's a cause close to my heart ).

Awareness raising it ain't, attention seeking it is.

This was winding me up only last night! My mum & nan have had breast cancer & thankfully recovered fully, but only January this year we lost my aunt to this fucking awful disease, leaving her 8 year old son with no mum, & family devastated. Yet all my family are sharing these shitty secret hearts. NO, if you want to do something in her memory, share the pictures that you've all mentioned, about what to look out for, how to check etc, my aunt would much rather this so a life was potentially saved than a poxy secret heart on Facebook