Social media outlets from around the world helped confirm not only the rising death tolls from the Nepal earthquake but also exposed the different organizations that sprang into action immediately after the news was made public. Within hours of the quake, the UN, US, prominent news outlets, and other NGOs set up international aid funds to help the victims. Only a few decades ago, collecting funds to help the victims would have been a painfully slow process that took months for organizations to plan and deploy. Today, thanks to social media, within hours of the tragedy, Red Cross and UN convoys were on the ground providing help where it is most needed, counting on immediate funding facilitated by crowd sourcing. This, however, is not the first time that social media has played a pivotal role in successfully deploying international aid. The 2011 Japanese tsunami and the 2010 Haiti earthquake are two other prime examples of a significant paradigm shift in progress, clearly favoring ‘collective responsibility’ over the ‘every man for himself’ mentality that has dominated social constructs for hundreds of years.
This should be a major concern for companies because, when this paradigm shifts from humanitarian aid to consumer choice, socially responsible practices will become a requirement to stay in business rather than an option. Smart brands will recognize this change in consumer attitudes, where new information quickly translates into action. Facts that impact ‘other’ people are making consumers feel personally responsible and motivated to act out of empathy. The key question for companies is: How long do they have to change unsustainable practices before they are seen as enemies of the people? We are no longer dealing with passive consumers, which means that companies not taking their social responsibility seriously could very soon become extinct. Brands like Monsanto and Walmart are already feeling the pressure to change their practices after their poor regard for social welfare was made public.
Only a few decades ago, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, natural disasters in foreign countries were unfortunate events that people watched on the news, but they did not necessarily feel a personal responsibility to help. Identity and social responsibility were closely tied to nationalism alone (clearly drawing a line and defining ‘us’ versus ‘the rest of the world’), and foreign countries were seen as ‘the others.’ This is no longer the case; social media is changing that perception. When human suffering is at stake, national borders have become less relevant. We see this reflected in the three examples mentioned above. People now feel not only compelled to speak out against violence, inequality, environmental issues, and human rights violations, but also to back their words with actions.
If there is one thing that natural disasters in the social media age can teach us, it is that empathy has surpassed the realist theories that dominated international relations for the past century. The ‘us vs. them’ divide is becoming less clear, and the harm done to other parts of the world is seen as a personal issue. As a result, the same human empathy will push people to stop supporting companies whose manufacturing practices harm the planet. Companies that can’t show their value beyond making profits will find it hard to stay in business. The clock is ticking, and it’s a race against time before the idea of ‘collective responsibility’ takes over the markets.
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Forwardeconomics 