Social media and Virtue signalling

[ValerieCupcake]

I don't/haven't update(d) my profile picture on Facebook or have ever made any posts to show solidarity with Manchester, Ukraine, Covid victims, Charlie Hebdo, Captain Tom Moore, Emiliano Sala, racial or gender equality, disabilities, Arthur/Star/Madeleine McCann, Sarah Everard, London Bridge, any of those things. And more. This doesn't mean I don't care. Doesn't mean I haven't supported these things with either money or time. I just don't broadcast it to the world to show that I am a good person. Is anyone with me or am I weird.

Actions speak louder than words. Even if the action is hidden such as a charity donation.

SHAME ON YOU -YOU HEARTLESS B*^%H! why do you not have a yellow and blue banner on your facebook????!!

Just kidding.

I agree @ValerieCupcake the virtue-signalling is irksome and nauseating. You can bet these people would never take in a refugee. Annoys me too!

@balalake

Actions speak louder than words. Even if the action is hidden such as a charity donation.

True. And helping and giving, and NOT blathering on about it is the way to go. Bragging about it is just so naff.

Neither do I.

I don't change my profile picture but I have no problem with those that do.

When what you can actually do to help is limited then perhaps they need an outlet to express that they care.

Hopefully they are donating too if they can - most people I know will also be giving or help organising donations.

A changed profile picture does no harm.

Anything that does no harm is fine with me.

of being unpleasant!

I don't do it, but some of my friends and family members do and I don't judge them for it or accuse them of "virtue-signalling". People express their feelings, concerns and beliefs in a range of different ways. To my elderly stepmum, for example, changing her banner to the Ukrainian flag really means something. She attends demonstrations and donates and volunteers, as well - she's a good person.

To me, this is as individual as whether or not you feel the need to decorate and personalise a grave site and visit it every week, or whether a grave means very little to you. There's no right and wrong. Different things matter to different people.

Of course there will be people who adopt every badge going as an easy way of portraying themselves as relevant and caring, while not actually giving a monkeys about others. Those people have always been with us. Social media hasn't changed anything except the wallpaper

Same as you. And I always make donations anonymous. Only put my name to petitions and protest emails. ( thank you IOC for taking notice of me ;)

"I've had my covid vaccine" ones irritated me my ex put one on and I'm like no you didn't 😒 🤣

Did you just need to tell someone you cared or donated?

“The nature of humanity, its essence, is to feel another's pain as one's own, and to act to take that pain away. There is a nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness.”
This quote from John Donnelly describes empathy, but the bit that I feel is missing from the Social Media posts is the last part, “to act to take that pain away”
Maybe some people are able to draw some comfort from the fact that people are feeling their pain, but without further action from the empathiser, it’s unlikely to do much material good to those suffering.
I think that’s why the OP’s viewpoint resonates with me…

A friend of mine (that I haven't seen for years - she moved away and I have tried to make an effort to meet up, not reciprocated).

She sent out a blanket email to all the people in her address book so I can see all the names & email addresses. (I was really peeved as I don't want to share my contact details with a load of randoms for security reasons)

In it she said she had already donated funds to the Ukrainian appeal and said that we should all do the same.

Talk about bloody virtue signalling. Does she not think we're all aware of what is going on and are capable of making up our minds of how we respond?

#bekind is the one that really gets me as it’s generally quoted by people who are anything but kind.

I haven't done it but I don't think it's virtue signalling. It's a very small gesture to show that you care about something. I think the term virtue signalling is pretty ironic. You are essentially having a go at people who you perceive to be trying to portray themselves as superior. So you obviously think you are superior to them? How is that better?

Don't get me wrong, filming yourself giving money to a homeless person is naff. Sometimes you should just do good things for the sake of being good not to show off and get likes for it. But I don't think Facebook profile pictures really do that and in some cases they can spread awareness which isn't a bad thing.

#bekind is too often shorthand for "#shutupwoman"

I had a massive rant on my Facebook before I deregistered about a special needs awareness post that was during the rounds. I have a daughter with SEND and have little or no support from friends or family. I was livid and posted along the lines of instead of copying and pasting this shit why not include kids like DD, invite her to tea, to a birthday party, understand her but don’t post bullshit without doing something in real life. The ‘care’ and ‘love’ reactions I got to my post infuriated me even more

Oh, and then someone else responded to the email, cc all of us. Saying she was not going to donate as she is doing prayers and sending out positive thoughts.

Totally agree. Same for small businesses sharing blue and yellow photos. For God's sake it's an invasion not an engagement opportunity.

Yeah, heaven forbid that anyone should express a feeling about a situation on their own Facebook profile, eh? What bastards.

Seriously, I find it weird that anyone would imagine their friends putting a Ukraine flag on their profile is 'bragging' or 'virtue signalling'.

If you don't want to do it, don't do it. Nobody's judging you for that. So don't judge other people for having a different preference. It's not harming you or anyone else. Also, pretty sure that people who have put a flag on their profile haven't done that in the belief that it's better or the same as making a donation. Plenty of them will have made donations as well.

I would also add that there is a reason that online giving sites encourage you to share on social media that you have donated to a cause, and that is because it encourages others to donate as well. They raise more money when people share. So when you share an 'I just donated to...' post from JustGiving or whatever, it's for the charity's benefit, not yours.

I hate those naff Facebook frames.

this post is the mn version of virtue signalling to be fair

yes, OP, you are absolutely superior to anyone who does any of those things.

I'm not sure I'd consider that VS so much, more just people showing their support or allegiance to a cause - though I don't do it myself because I see it as just a bit pointless without any action backing it.

I think VS is more when people who make a lot of "noise" or try to act as though they are activists without actually doing anything.

But how do people pay me on my back as I walk down the street if I haven’t advertised on all the local Facebook groups that I have spare rooms to offer to the Ukrainian refugees? If only they could get here, see my post and take me up on the offer.

Not to mention why haven’t all these spare rooms been offered to the thousands of refugees already here?

If only there was a virtue signalling twat emoji.

Slactivism on social media is easy, you can do it while on the toilet before catching up on the Love Island highlights.