Tell me to what you pay attention, and I will tell you who you are.
-Jose Ortega y Gassett
Once upon a time, when there were only a handful of channels that decided which stories were worthy of telling, we could rightly complain about “the media” focusing our attention on salacious and shocking events. Now, however, we play a big role in determining which stories gain traction.
With more and more people accessing news and information via their social media feeds, we decide what other people see. The things we choose to amplify, comment on, and talk about in our own posts impact what those in our networks know and can even shape how they perceive issues and events.
Have you thought about where you want to direct the attention of others via your social media activity?
Imagine yourself as the head of your own media company. What events do you want to cover? What stories do you want to tell? What issues do you want to highlight?
As tempting as it is to get caught up in whatever topic is dominating social media platforms on a given day — and, as someone who spent way more time than I’d like to admit reading a million takes on an event currently dominating social media, I know how tempting it is — we aren’t required to pay attention to it just because a bunch of people are talking about it.
Even if we find ourselves paying attention to it, we don’t have to pass it along to our own networks if it doesn’t align with the ideas and stories we want to pour into digital spaces.
We can set our own agenda for focus and discussion, and, in doing so, help focus people in our networks on the things we deem worthy of attention.
“It’s up to us to demand stories of love and justice, to read and watch them. To validate and elevate them,” says Elizabeth Lesser, co-founder of health, wellness, and creativity center Omega Institute, in Cassandra Speaks: When Women are the Storytellers, The Human Story Changes.
Lesser recommends searching the news for names and stories of people “anchored in strength and compassion” and “doing power differently” so that “we might change the story of who we are.”
When we focus on sharing the things that matter deeply to us, we shift the narrative of what matters to “everyone.” We demonstrate that different things resonate with different people, says Lesser, reinforcing the fact that there are many ways of seeing the world and navigating it.
It’s another way we can proactively use social media to expand understanding and empathy — focusing on stories that uplift and unite us rather than those that outrage and divide us.
What stories do you want more people to know about? Share them by clicking the comment button below!
IT’S FINALLY HERE! Digital Grace: Pouring Benevolence into and Outraged World NOW AVAILABLE IN PRINT AND E-BOOK!
Also from Lauren Hug: Digital Kindness: Being Human in a Hyper-Connected World