Salam
Sunday everyone,
On
Saturday, the nation was shocked with the horrifying news that one of our
airplane went missing from the radar. I am pretty sure, that most of you are aware of this situation.
We deeply regret that we
have lost all contacts with flight MH370 which departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41
am earlier this morning bound for Beijing. The aircraft was scheduled to land
at Beijing International Airport at 6.30am local Beijing time. Subang Air
Traffic Control reported that it lost contact at 2.40am (local Malaysia time)
today.
This
is an excerpt taken from the website of Malaysia Airline regarding the
situation.
In
times of emergency situation like this we can see how Malaysians united in
terms of giving moral and material supports. No doubt, despite of the recent chaos
of political issues, water issues and the hazardous air pollution Malaysian still manage to come to their sense
and help each other despite their backgrounds.
If
you scrolled through any of the main social media, facebook , twitter and instagram you may see
hundreds of posts dedicated to the victims and their family. Prayers of all
sorts whether in images , quotes and even excerpts from the Quran and Holy Bible
are dedicated specially for MH 370.
As
an avid social network user, I am aware of the usage of hashtag. The usage if
hashtag is initially used to indicate a specific content and categorize the
topics in a certain manner.
Last
night, as I was watching the news and scrolling through my instagram for any recent
news of the situation I noticed something is wrong. Scrolling through the
hashtag of #MH370, I see many supportive quotes and images for the airplane
however there are certain photos that are posted with the hashtag #MH370 that
does not have any connection by all means to the current situation.
I’ve
seen people posting their selfies, pictures of people hanging out with their
friends and even people attending weddings and going grocery shopping all with
the hashtag of #MH370.
Imagine
yourself as one of the family members and friends of the victims, scrolling
through the timeline for some motivation and just for the sake of appreciating
prayers from the nation, when you suddenly came across a picture of a group of
friends with beaming smile at the mamak while you yourself couldn’t even bring
a small smile on your face.
Is that appropriate?
In
my opinion, its not.
Specify
the usage of hashtags, not just for the sake of ‘ ohh because this hashtag is
currently trending on twitter ‘. If you want to post a selfie of yourself or a
picture of you and your friends at the mamak, find an appropriate hashtag for
that.
Respect
the feelings of the people involved, mothers waiting anxiously for the return
of her one and only son, wives sobbing to tears of the news that maybe her husband
is hurt somewhere in the ocean and children of the passengers waiting clueless
at the airport with no news of their parents.
Its
currently has been almost more than 24 hours since the airplane went missing
from the radar and yet, there are still
no official news of the situation from the authorities. Pestered by the media
and the nation, I am sure that the people involved could use some motivation
and prayers from you instead of a selfie of you in your room with cute pout and
a hashtag of #MH370.
Meanwhile,
for now we could only wait for official announcement from the authorities. A
gently reminder, don’t believe any news that you may have heard from someone
and someone.
Example
“ my aunt’s friend said….., my boyfriend’s friend’s uncle said …. , “ . My
advise, I suggest that these people apply to be a journalist because you are so
great at bringing news to people right ? * insert sarcasm smile here*
Malaysians,
keep praying for #MH370. I hope there’s some kind of miracle that may happen
and that they will safely return to their respective families. InsyaAllah.
And
remember, use appropriate hashtag for whatever that you want to post on your
social network account. Be considerate. Be thoughtful.
#PrayforMH370
Love,
Aishah.
No comments:
Post a Comment