Is the internet handling Russia invading Ukraine crisis insensitively?

Humour has always been used as a great way to cope with tough situations and the internet loves to make jokes out of the crisis. That’s why every time there’s news about some mishap going around the world, Twitter gets flooded with tweets making fun of the situation, and memes are shared all over social media platforms.

And I won’t act righteous and say I don’t laugh at them, in fact, I post the ones I find hilarious.

The great thing about memes is that even though they are primarily shared for entertainment, they can also be used as an alternative medium for discussions. When a meme starts trending, people start talking about the situation, and it gets your attention. It makes you dig more about the topic of discussion in order to be a part of the conversation. Overall, memes have been a great medium used by the youth to voice their opinions.

But here’s the problematic part; even though in this digital world, memes serve as a convenient way to expose people and especially the youth to important topics, it often oversimplifies the gravity of the situation.

When the news broke out that Russia is invading Ukraine, Twitter did what it’s best at, started tweeting about it. And that’s how the World War III memes began. This was highly criticized by many people as insensitive. People bashed the ones who were making fun of such a grave situation and said the war is no joke.

I was thinking about this whole scenario and at first, I was enraged too but after much thought, I came to a conclusion that bashing these people might silence them and they might stop making memes about this ongoing crisis but that won’t stop them from making more memes in the future which we might find offensive.

People deal with stress differently, sometimes humor is used as a coping mechanism.

With all these issues happening around the younger generations, it can be overwhelming, so laughing about it helps them to relieve some stress and still be engaged with the current world. However, it can be hard to determine whether the person is just expressing themselves or is demeaning the situation. Even though memes are great for public engagement it’s hard to say if the humor used in the situation is appropriate or it has crossed the limit and can be harmful because everyone has different opinions and levels of perception.

We can’t stop someone from expressing how they feel on the internet but we do have the choice of how we react to it. As long as the internet exists, so will memes. I am not asking you to stop making memes or to not laugh at them. What we can do is to take these grave situations seriously. There’s nothing wrong in laughing about it, but if that’s all you are doing then you need to rethink your choices.

So, what can you do? Look past these memes that provide you with half knowledge, know the complete truth, get educated, and take your stand. If you can help people in any way do it, if you can spread your knowledge do it but don’t just sit behind a screen and laugh about it.

Is the internet dealing with the war insensitively? Yes, to some extent it is. But thanks to the internet we are getting updated every minute and through this medium we can help the ones getting affected by the war.

Here’s how you can help the people of Ukraine in the ongoing crisis:

• CARE: CARE has set up an emergency Ukrainian Crisis Fund. Its goal is to provide support to around four million people in Ukraine. The support includes immediate aid and recovery, food, water, hygiene kits, psychosocial support, and cash assistance, prioritizing women and girls, families, and the elderly.

Click here to donate

• International Rescue Committee: The donations will help them provide critical aid to displaced families in countries like Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen.

Click here to donate

• International Medical Corps: The non-profit’s main area of assistance is providing healthcare services to those in need. Ukrainians living in affected areas will, therefore, get access to medical and mental health resources.

Click here to donate

• Project HOPE: The organization provides emergency medical assistance from across Europe to refugees displaced by the war in Ukraine. Outside of Ukraine, the organization is also seeking donations for Haiti and Indonesia.

Click here to donate

• Sunflower of Peace: This organization provides front-line doctors with medical supplies and first aid for their humanitarian work. The supplies are placed in backpacks, which are sent to the doctors in need. As of now, the organization is also helping Ukrainian soldiers besides civilians and volunteers with backpacks of first aid supplies.

Click here to donate

• Voices of Children: Children are the ones that get affected the most when wars take place. This organization raising funds to help the young ones affected by the war in Ukraine.

Click here to donate

• UNHCR: This organization has been providing urgent help to families forced to flee their homes. The organization says that it has increased its operations and capacity in Ukraine and neighboring countries.

Click here to donate