Clapping for What?

What is with the clapping on Social Media? 

Do people actually think it is meaningful?

Skip the posturing, do something useful.

My wife told me this morning that there are people on Facebook who film themselves clapping for others. Why? I don’t know? (Before I posted, I found out that they were clapping for doctors, nurses, first responders, etc.). Don’t these clappers realize that their clapping isn’t helping anyone? If you want to clap for, give our first responders the supplies they need. Just as good, stay inside and socially distance yourself from everyone so that this virus cannot travel around and infect more people. When you successfully perform social distancing, you can clap all you want… for yourself.

This clap sounds like a combination of a disease and those stupid “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” commercials. Are they clapping so others can make them feel important about doing nothing? If you want others to see your greatness, do something useful. If you need everyone’s reassurance that you are living a good life, post a picture of yourself staying away from everyone else. In this crisis, this is the most useful action you can do. 

An additional question for the clappers. Do you post your “clappings” online to make yourself feel better about yourself or is it the belief that your clapping is making a difference?

And one more. If a person claps in a forest, does anyone hear it?

Don’t posture on social media by doing something meaningless, like clapping. Posture by doing the right thing, like staying home during the pandemic.  Would clapping in private make you feel as good as clapping on social media so you can get all of those likes, hearts, and emoticons? Why not? 

Staying home be the most heroic action that you can take that could potentially save scores of others, including your love ones? I’d clap for that, but I won’t post it on Social Media.

Be Better.