Proof I’m a Good Human: Posting about your charitable acts on social media doesn’t validate your character.

Within a day of the Australian wildfires hitting international news circuits, Instagram feeds became clogged with stories reposting the same devastating picture of burning trees to “donate $1” to the efforts. And you’re left wondering why the girl you sit next to in Stats felt the need to let all 847 of their followers know they donated to the cause.

With this generation of media — specifically social media — the ease of spreading information and awareness for charities and causes has changed drastically through easily accessible links and posts.

Instagram, Twitter and even TikTok have helped alert audiences about major social issues including Sudan’s political crisis, the development of Muslim concentration camps in China and most recently, the Australian bushfires. Thanks to Instagram stories and TikTok’s informational, but still hilarious videos, it’s hard to miss relevant world events.

However, there’s an important distinction between spreading awareness with the right intentions and showing off your good deed of donating money or volunteering. Human ethics are put into question when you show off your charitable act just to make yourself feel better — and make others feel guilty for not shelling out a five-dollar bill to the Salvation Army.

Although adopting an Australian koala for $70 is beneficial to the wildfire crisis, the reasons for doing so are up for debate. Is it because you have a true sense of philanthropy? Or do you want your followers to know you care about more than just concerts and vacations.

There are videos of people shoving their camera in a homeless man’s face as they hand him a $100 bill. It’s dehumanizing to watch someone degrade the less fortunate for a few comments of praise under their post. There’s no point in broadcasting your generous act — be satisfied with the fact that they can put that money to food or clothing, not that your crush is going to see you being charitable on your Snapchat story.

Human tendency means having a mindset of “what’s in it for me?” When donating, it should be motivating enough to know you’ll be helping someone immensely by giving any amount at all, whether it be financially or through service.

But people have manufactured a self-serving reward for volunteering: the gratification of being able to prove that you’re a good person. It’s a pat on the back for doing something good and a slap in others’ faces for not. 

Donating to charitable causes and volunteering is part of being a decent, contributing member of society. You shouldn’t feel guilty about being unable to serve the community because of a lack of financial resources or time, but even the little ways we give back make positive impacts on our community. This includes donating your winter coat from last year knowing it’ll keep someone else warm or going on a mission trip to Africa with your church — like my mom did proudly without alerting her Instagram followers.

But for some, it’s not enough. I’m sure we’ve all seen the plethora of posts from our peers — and even celebrities — taking pictures of them volunteering with kids in places like Haiti or the Dominican Republic

What’s most important is the fact that kids are getting help through volunteer work. But each time I see the posts of pictures with the kids and orphans, I can’t help but question their authenticity and wonder why people feel the need to dedicate their 10-picture posts to boasting about how much they love the kids — even though those kids will most likely never see that post. I understand taking pictures to collect memories, but posting them seems unnecessary.

The pictures help to remember the trip and to reflect upon the close connections made with the kids, but there is no reason to post it on Instagram — unless you’re promoting an effective way for your followers can help or volunteer.

And oftentimes, when people claim to be “spreading awareness,” it’s just posts on their stories about how no one is doing anything about the issue at hand. These posts don’t offer any way to donate or contribute, and this just reinforces the fact that no one’s doing anything about it — including the poster. These posts serve no purpose but to prove their “wokeness” about said issue.

Whether or not it matters if people show off — the donation or volunteer work still goes to the same place. The Australian bushfires still received financial support whether you bragged about it or not and the kids at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic still made connections through the volunteer work.

In the grand scheme of things, sharing your donations and charity work doesn’t affect the process and I’m glad those organizations can benefit from anything they can get. 

But social media has corrupted our minds that we have to share every aspect of our lives and that somehow validates our actions. It can have detrimental effects that can lead us to thinking we’re not good enough or can cause us to live solely for social media posts. 

So the next time you donate to a charity, give money to the less fortunate or volunteer at a soup kitchen — do it with the right intentions. Be motivated by your passion to help others, not with the idea of how many Instagram likes you’d receive.