Wednesday 14 May 2014

the power of social media

Social media, twitter, facebook, instagram, and the rest get a bad press sometimes. Over sharing, trolls and time wasting are all downsides to the social media world. We complain about it, even though we live in it, and as bloggers participate in it. Sometimes though social media proves it's worth in the world, as it allows stories to spread that make a difference beyond the possible expectations of those who wrote them.

I've been following the story of Stephen Sutton for several months now, he posted on facebook and twitter about his life since the diagnosis of terminal bowel cancer at age 15, and amongst other things on a bucket list he set about to raise £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.  Sometimes it is possible that a person who you never met, and hardly know anything about can touch something inside you, your heart? your soul? whatever it is that makes you human? This person can make you stop, think, reflect on the meaning of what we do, acknowledge that indeed 'life isn't measured in time, it's measured in achievements', and occasionally reach for your wallet. Through the world of social media Stephen wrote about teenage cancers and the special needs of a teenage patient and what he learnt from his cancer and what he wanted to achieve, and the world of social media listened, and spread the word, and as I write this now his just giving page  is recording contributions of over £3.45 million. Sometimes one person can do so much more than it can seem possible.

Stephen passed away this morning in hospital, he leaves behind a family mourning for his loss, and a legacy for the future.




4 comments:

  1. That is so eloquent and so true. Ax

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  2. An inspirational and amazing boy, a very sad loss.

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  3. I hadn't heard of Stephen until I was listening to the BBC on the morning of his passing. Such a sad story. And you've written about it so beautifully.

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