The internet might just be saving our humanity

The Slow Hustle companion

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The internet might just be saving our humanity

Varun Duggirala

Apr 24, 2021

Last Friday, as I sat down to write this newsletter, I couldn't get a word in. My mind was overwhelmed!! I can't remember the last time I felt this helpless to be genuinely unable to help anyone around me. People were dying, Running from hospital to hospital searching for a bed, oxygen, some medicine. Some people were unable to procure food for those that were under quarantine. The sound of an ambulance whizzing by my building every few minutes was a constant reminder of the state of things in the country.

And then I went onto social media, and Twitter wasn't its usual stream of information and randomness; Instagram wasn't all content creation & fun... there was a drastic change in the social media airwaves. Where there were one creators and tweeters, people with one-liners and business insights,... there was now an endless stream of people highlighting requirements and connecting resources. From Mumbai to Delhi to Jharkhand and UP.. this was the Indian internet waking up to say we're not going to let our own stay helpless and die, we'll stand up and do what we can, using those followers not for a dopamine rush but for holding humanity together, not to let it fall into the abyss.

From hospital beds to medical supplies, people putting together entire spreadsheets of ever updated and verified information, trying to find a way to save the life of someone they had never met but were helping because humanity lives deep within us, and we protect our own when we have a common battle to fight. Food resources were being assembled for those who needed it. Volunteers were heading out to help those they could. People were breaking down and taking breaks for their minds to tune out the doomscrolling for a few minutes before diving in. No form of false positivity, jingoism , whataboutism or noise was diverting the collective soul of this lifeline we call the socially connected internet.. and while this piece has been written in past tense, we're still in the middle of it.

We're still trying to push through while so much around us crumbles because if not now, then when?

The social internet might be called many things, but after this battle is done, no one can ever say it's a shallow representation of humanity and doesn't have a soul. On the contrary, it just might save whatever humanity is left around us and tweet us towards a brighter day.