By Elissa Carey
Sometimes after reading the morning news, I become gloomy, however, this morning the news motivated me to want to go out and help people. But I’ve learned that to make a positive change in the world, it’s best to start in our local area. I started by opening up my app, Mayo. Mayo allows people to ask for help from those nearby, as well as respond to requests. It uses geographical location technology so that only people in the same coffee shop as you, or building, can communicate. The app encourages people to do random acts of kindness and inspires selflessness, generosity, and affection. If we could spread these traits to others, perhaps a ripple effect of kindness would take place. According to Dartmouth University, people who engage in random acts of kindness have “23% less cortisol (the stress hormone) and age slower than the average population.”
Many of the bad things happening in the world that are caused by humans are spread because of hate towards one another. The way to take hate out of the picture is to spread love. According to “The Loneliness Cure” by Kory Floyd, a professor who studied interpersonal communication and affection for over twenty years, explains how humans need affection just as much as we need food and water. “Socially disconnected people have social deficits . . . they’re less generous and less willing to help others . . . they also become more aggressive…” (Floyd 145). If we could find a way to reach out to others, many lonely people wouldn’t be as socially disconnected. With the world in a pandemic, loneliness is at an all-time high. According to the Mental Health Foundation in the UK, after the lockdown began 44% of young people aged 18–24 felt lonely, as compared to only 16% before the lockdown. For the most socially connected age group to be this lonely, it’s important that we are supporting and helping each other to the best of our abilities. In acknowledging the pandemic, it’s critical that we spread love, (not Covid-19) by continuing to social distance and wear our masks.
Photo by Etienne Boulanger on Unsplash
To social distance from each other, we rely on technology to continue work; it has become vital to us. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that roughly 93% of Americans agreed that not having internet or cell service during the pandemic would be very problematic. The internet and cellphones are where many people are finding solace in their loneliness. What sets Mayo apart from other similar apps, is that it implores users to simply be kind to others. Help others. Spread positivity. If we all spread more kindness, perhaps the news wouldn’t be so disheartening.
PEW Research Center | MARCH 31, 2020