Saturday, July 4, 2009

Armchair causes

Once in a way, I get these invitations for causes on facebook. Initially, I took the trouble to read what it was and even went to the extent of joining few. But now I am beginning to question these 'click for a cause' causes.

Does the money it promises really go to the cause promised? That is one basic question. But beyond this is what this kind of initiatives have done to us - it has turned millions into armchair philanthrophists. We click and believe we have contributed to a cause. And we forget it. We don't even bother to check what really happens to it. There are no updates about what is happening to the so-called cause. Whether it earned what it promised. There is no place that shows the list of people who have clicked-and-contributed. Nothing. Except probably collecting profile data for some marketing gimmick.

It has done what it promises to us - somewhere it has satisfied our need to be relevant. We believe we have done our best. We haven't had to deal with the realities that causes otherwise have. We also get to announce to the world how much we care.

Another symptom of a Facebook Society.

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