Social media is helping to spread the news about who Kony is, and it is a great resource for rallying the public to a cause that was not so well known.
Many had never heard of Kony or the Invisible Children organization until they saw the video on their Facebook, YouTube or status updates on sites like Facebook and Twitter.
The video starts out by explaining we are all connected, and how Facebook and the internet in general have helped to keep people connected and bonded.
It then goes on to explain that Joseph Kony kidnaps children in Uganda, creating an army for the sole purpose of maiming and killing other people.
Though many people use these sites to update what they had for breakfast or what grade they got on their math test, there are those who use the medium also in a way share news stories and other topics which they find important.
What this video does is allow people to not just hear what is happening, but to also see what is happening regarding Kony, and what the Invisible Children’s organization and other every-day people are doing about it.
Jason Russel, narrator for the now famous Kony 2012 video which has gone viral has been able to get his message across by creating an almost half hour video with the intent on educating the public about Kony.
The reactions, both positive and negative concerning the video are both understandable.
The most sympathetic will cry several times throughout it, crying for the children who are abducted and brainwashed into joining his army, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA.)
Many will also cry for the future generation, who will be coming into a world where such atrocities are possible and seemingly incapable of being stopped.
Because this video spread so fast and because everyone was so quick to jump on the bandwagon, many have come to the conclusion that this is a phase which shall pass, and even make jokes about the Kony and the Invisible Children organization.
But that’s okay, because even negative attention and media will make people ask ‘who is Kony?’ and the use of social media will allow this subject to spread like wildfire and educate so many more than telephones and TV could accomplish.
