Yes, You Have a Platform and There’s Power in That
Using our power to seek the well-being of others
Words are important. Messages matter.
Without words or a way to communicate it’s hard for things to come into existence. Words create. They create ideas, emotions, a movement, and a future. And words are best used when they create human flourishing, helping us to experience all the good this world has for us.
What’s even better is when we have a platform from where we share these messages. A platform is something we all have because it’s simply the amount of people we can reach with the things we say or do. Social media, for example, gives us a huge platform to share thoughts or ideas, for better or worse. And if you’re a celebrity you have one of the biggest platforms because of your popularity. When celebrities use their influence for good, the results can be great.
Let’s take Logic for instance. On August 27, 2017 he took the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards to perform his hit song “1–800–273–8255” feat. Alessia Cara and Khalid. If you haven’t heard the song yet, you can listen to it here, but let me just tell you that it’s a very impactful song because it deals with the issues of depression and mental illness. The song title itself is actually the phone number to the Suicide Prevention Hotline and reports from different sources have revealed that calls to the hotline increased 50 percent after Logic’s performance. Talk about the good use of a platform. Who knows how many people were thinking about taking their life that day. With teen suicide rates hitting a record high, it’s important to have messages like circulating in the public sphere.
But you don’t need to be a celebrity though to have an impact. Another quick example of how people have been using their platforms to help others is social media and Hurricane Harvey. People have used Facbook and Twitter to share information to help others whether it’s to inform people what streets to avoid, who to call for help, or helping people track loved ones. It’s amazing to see social media being used for good by everyday people.
Listen, it may be strange for you to think you have power, but you do and you also have a platform. It’s important that we’re aware of these things because they can help us help others. So take your platform, use it for good, use it to the benefit of others, and watch our communities flourish.
