SOCIAL MEDIA: Social Impact on Hunger

Can Social Media Help Feed A Billion Hungry People?

It can. It definitely can, and to celebrate World Population Day, the World Food Program has launched a campaign to pair a billion Internet users with the billion-plus hungry people in the world. 

The Billion for a Billion campaign makes a stark contrast between the daily activities of the digital community and the world’s have-nots. During the one minute you spent watching the above video, more than 145 million emails will be sent, more than 2 million other YouTube videos will be watched, $43,681 will be spent on eBay, 83,273 people will log onto Facebook, 2,083 tweets will be sent and 10 children will die from hunger.

To date more than 722 000 people watched the video. Of course, one can say the same about the video of Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon's attribution to rap, but the purposes of both videos are not the same, and to our own unfortunate - people long more often towards entertainment, rather than towards - social deeds.

The World Food Program estimates there are the same number of people surfing the Internet as there are living in hunger. The United Nations Population Fund has also joined the good fight, launching its 7 Billion Actions campaign in an effort to pledge one good deed for every person on the planet. (The world’s population is expected to hit 7 billion sometime this year.)

Since this page loaded...

$26 973
worth of goods was sold on eBay.

Yet, 170
feeds a person for a year.

1 billion hungry / 1 billion online

You can turn this around! Click here now.

As I was posting this message, the page's statistics said "9 people died", when I finished it, it already said "64 died". Within just a few minutes...

To get involved on World Population Day, you can pledge a deed at 7 Billions Actions or sign up to help feed the “hungry billion.” You can share out a series of messages on your social sites, such as “Reading this? You’re 1 of the online billion who can help the hungry billion.” On Twitter, you can use the hashtag #b4b, or download a special background for your account.

There are also a slew of other options available such as planning parties (which the World Food Program may stream online), signing a petition, or donating. Just $5 can give healthy school meals to a child, $100 can provide food to 1,000 victims of emergencies, and $170 can feed a person for one year.

You can see where your donations will land on this map [PDF].

How else can the online billion help the hungry billion? Suggest...

Source.