In light of the recent attacks on Paris, Facebook has introduced another profile picture filter to appease its lethargic user base. Facebook has made it increasingly simple to pretend to show support for a cause you most likely are largely uninformed on. While people may argue they are raising awareness, “if not backed up by money or deed, it’s little more than lip service”. Furthermore, people suggest that if enough people change their photo it will unite us and will “help shift cultural norms”. Unfortunately, the shift we are seeing is towards people feeling they are helping a cause by doing little more than clicking a button.

I propose that for the next trending world disaster an NGO pairs with Facebook to create value from the demand for photo filters. Creating a system where you can only apply the filter to your photos after you donate two dollars to the cause could actually tangibly help the situation. Similarly, for those struggling financially, implementing a quiz on a few articles would at least promote the proper information and add value to the “raising awareness” argument that often is wasted. There is enough demand for support on social media so it’s important that we turn it into real support.

Photo: http://bit.ly/1PFntlV