Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake and Usher are just some of the celebrities temporarily signing off social media sites in a bid to raise money for World Aids Day, which took place this week. However, many among our panellists have questioned how much of a sacrifice this action really is, and commented fiercely on the notion that social media is something 'to give up’.
Many queried the validity of ‘giving up’ social media.
Some respondents, however, felt that the campaign was an innovative idea, in touch with modern society:
But some panellists commented that social media in general was not a positive phenomenon, lamenting the fact that it is now so ubiquitous that people have to purposefully ‘give it up’.
Singer Alicia Keys launched the ‘Digital Life Sacrifice’ campaign to raise money for her charity ‘Keep a Child Alive’ which helps combat aids in Africa and India. Celebrities with a big social media presence, including Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Hudson, signed off Twitter and Facebook for charity and have pledged not to log on again until $1 million is donated - they are effectively 'digitally dead' and only $1m will 'buy their life back'. At the time of writing, the charity's website puts the total raised at $183,328. Perhaps, as our panellists have highlighted, the message has been lost on those apparently frustrated with the onslaught of celebrity culture and the addictive quality of social media sites. Perhaps for some, then, Twitter silence is golden.
World Aids Day was on December 1st 2010
