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The latest "good cause" trend on Facebook made the rounds yesterday: "Change your Facebook profile picture to a cartoon from your childhood and invite your friends to do the same. Until Monday (Dec. 6) there should be no human faces on facebook, but an invasion of memories. This is for the prevention of violence against children."
Much like my reaction to last October's well-intentioned (I'm sure) but badly-executed plan to raise awareness about breast cancer (remember the "Where do you put your purse?"), which I didn't join because it's just plain stupid, I also had my doubts about the cartoon profile pic idea. But, as most trends go, this one had "FUN!" written all over it. Count me in!
So I did a Google image search...and then realized how hard it was. So many cartoons, just one profile pic! First, I went for Visionaries, then Care Bears, then considered Thundercats, and finally settled on Rainbow Brite (the original version). Specifically, Lala Orange.
After changing my profile pic, I started wondering exactly how it was going to fight pedophilia and child abuse / bullying on Facebook. And then, I saw this on my News Feed this morning:
Now, my News Feed is flooded with cartoon profile pics, which is causing a mashup of different cartoon themes to start playing in my head. Friends are sharing memories of their favorite cartoons, and we're going "Do you remember...?"
The trend achieved exactly that: "an invasion of memories". Good memories. My guess is, the way this will counter child abuse on Facebook is, when people recall these good memories, they'll also remember the good parts of their own childhood, and this will hopefully create a new perspective or change of heart towards kids.
Years ago, a friend of mine, who is a successful writer of children's storybooks, said that the most effective way to relate with kids is to stoop down to their level. Listen to how they talk. Watch them play. Don't complicate their world with your own grown-up biases. Remember that when you were a kid yourself, simple things were enough. It's for this reason that we should be proactive in protecting kids against abuse. Abuse is not a simple thing, moreso its effects and the recovery process.
I hope my guess is right. But honestly, the fight against child abuse isn't that easy and it won't stop completely by Dec. 6. It should be an everyday awareness, like many other issues that have a special day in our calendar (AIDS, breast cancer, etc.). More importantly, when you find yourself in a situation where you can make a difference, I hope you take that leap of faith and courageously stand up for what is right. Or, you could also stubbornly stay put, like Rosa Parks did.
Have you changed your profile pic yet?
Recommended read: UN's Study on Violence Against Children
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