Imagine for a minute that you woke up this morning, turned on your computer or reached for the nearest newspaper, and saw the headline "Taylor Swift in Life-Threatening Crisis – Will She Survive."
Perhaps you would have looked closer and felt like telling someone the news when you got to class, just in case they had not heard.
What if the headline had really been about Ayani Mbaza, a 21-year-old Nigerien woman who is fighting for her life because she has not been able to get a proper meal for months? Perhaps you would still have looked closer and wanted to know more about her situation, even tried to find out if you could help in any way.
But what if I told you that Ayani is actually one of 7.3 million people in Niger who are experiencing a hunger crisis and are in desperate need for food. Maybe adding that Niger has the highest infant mortality rate in the world and that Nigerien girls rarely get to complete primary school. Would you feel any different? Perhaps slightly sad and discouraged, feeling like turning the page and reading up on the latest scandal of the Kardashians instead.
There's nothing you can do for all these Nigerien people anyway ... right?
The decisions that people like you and I make every day about what is newsworthy can sometimes be bewildering. Should the suffering of a celebrity be considered more important and more worth discussing than the suffering of millions of people who are struggling to survive?
Research by Dr. Paul Slovic indicates that when people are told about a child in desperate need and asked how much they would give to help that child, they are likely to be very generous. However, when asked how much they would give to help two children in need, the generosity goes down a bit, and when asked how much they would give to help a massive number of children, they tend not to be generous at all.
Sadly, this translates quite well to our example. On average, people tend to be quite untouched by news about daily hardships of large groups of people, such as the Nigeriens, but pay close attention to issues that selected individuals go through.
But why might we be tempted to keep up with news about Miss Swift and the Kardashians, while largely ignoring stories on some of the world's biggest and most severe problems?
Part of the explanation may lie in the fact that news about serious world issues is likely to bring us down, at least momentarily. We may feel a bit overwhelmed, sad, powerless and even guilty for enjoying a relatively peaceful life while millions of people do not. On top of that, the world's issues also tend to be quite complicated.
If these reactions sound familiar at all, let me suggest a few reasons not to turn the page or scroll past the "world" section the next time you open a newspaper or visit a news website.
As you know, education is not just about getting a degree or getting through a semester. It is also about being able to think critically, seeking and evaluating new information and integrating knowledge so that you can see how your life is indeed connected to the state of our world. In addition, being more aware of global issues helps us understand other people and their concerns, put our own hassles into perspective and find ways to make a difference.
Although we may have our moments of pessimism, there are endless opportunities around us to have a positive impact — even on our own campus where numerous organizations are working to build a better world for all of us.
So while the people of Niger may never know you took the time to learn about their existence, your awareness is the key to action.
Bjorg is a member of the Social Justice League. She writes a letter to the editor on behalf of the group. Her views do not necessary agree with the Daily News.
Bjorg Hermannsdottir
bshermanns@bsu.edu
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