When It Comes to Ukraine, Social Media Isn’t Enough
Smiling faces enjoying Shabbat dinner at the Hillel in Kharkiv.
A joyous Passover Seder spent with a kind host family in Kyiv.
A tour with friends through Medzhibizh, once home to the Baal Shem Tov.
These days, my social media feeds are filled with memories of time spent in Ukraine, as everyone I know seems to be posting throwback photos of visits past.
Their photos and captions recall happy times in Ukraine as they recall mission trips, youth group excursions, gap years, study-abroad trips and historical tours. And, of course, their pictures are accompanied by captions about the grief and tragedy of the current situation there. In sharing memories of past connections, they express concern for the Ukrainian people now, commending their bravery and praying for their safety.
It’s all well-intentioned, I know. But as the Russian/Ukrainian war continues, so too has my discomfort with such posts. I have no doubt these posters have fond memories of their trips to Ukraine and that they do indeed feel heartbreak and despair about the current war. I am equally sure, however, that such sentiments are of little help to the Ukrainian people, who are suffering so deeply right now.
Displaced and in fear for their lives, the Ukrainian people certainly aren’t feeling the impact of our words. While they may feel bolstered to know, in some vague sense, that the world stands in solidarity with them, what good does solidarity do without actual aid? What good are our memories without our monetary support, volunteer work, donations of supplies, and other much-needed acts of chesed?
Social media activism has become the go-to response for millennials, Gen Z, and all digital natives, for whom online advocacy is an obvious and even requisite element of allyship. We post photos of past experiences; we retweet news stories and the wisdom of thought leaders; we change our profile pictures to frames stamped with “Stand with Ukraine.”
But what does it all achieve? As is so often the case, Facebook posts and tweets and Instagram photos, emotionally powerful though they may be, ultimately don’t mean much — and on their own, they don’t actually do anything.
Shimon Ben Gamliel teaches, “Study is not the most important thing, but actions.” (Pirkei Avot 1:14) And if action is more important than even the sacred act of study, surely it is also more important than digging photos from our personal archives, penning eloquent captions, hitting the “post” button, and calling it a day.
With each social media post I see, I can’t help but wonder: Where is the action? Are these posts accompanied by behind-the-scenes donations to aid organizations providing assistance on the ground? And if so, why not encourage such philanthropy in their posts? Because right now, action — in the form of true and tangible aid — is the only thing that really matters. And it is the only thing that can help the people of Ukraine.
Without true action, our words ring hollow, more for our own benefit than for the benefit of those in need. Without taking action and encouraging others to do the same, our care is symbolic — selfish, even. It’s driven by our own sense of helplessness and desire to do something, anything, in the face of global tragedy. In posting to social media, we publicly pacify our consciences while the citizens of Ukraine suffer.
Of course, I don’t discount the power of social media to stir our consciousness and arouse our compassion. There is, of course, something to be said for public displays of support. When we post on social media about world events, we hope that our own friends and connections will take notice, driven by our passion to take heed, to pay closer attention themselves. When we post to our social media accounts about issues of importance to us, we signify to our online communities that we care, which can ultimately help raise awareness.
But the cold truth is that, like study, caring is simply not enough — not on its own. We must be careful not to get too comfortable in a world where our activism lives only online, providing self-serving checkmarks to say that we’ve done our part.
Let us not fool ourselves into complacency: Without clear, consistent, and concrete calls to action, posting our memories of Ukraine to social media isn’t doing much at all. As David Sable wrote recently in his weekly column, “[We] can’t be complacent. Speak out. Reach out.” In other words, it is the action that is the most important thing. And philanthropy is action, whether we give of our money, our time, or both.
If social media can inspire us to care, surely it can also inspire us to act — and to encourage others to do the same.
During this time of immense need, many organizations are doing critical relief work. I made donations to and recommend supporting The JDC, IsraAID, Chabad, and United Hatzalah, which are providing on-the-ground aid and support to Ukrainian Jews and to all Ukrainians during this tumultuous time.
