Tired of all the negativity taking over social media? It’s time to take action — TODAY — Wednesday, February 26. How? Today is Be Likeable Day, the campaign that attempts to use social media as a space for positivity and asks for participants to take to their social media accounts to make a difference. Its hashtag: #BeLikeableDay.
There’s more to the movement than a mere hashtag. The #BeLikeableDay website describes the day’s mission thusly: “In an age when cyberbullying, fake news, and negative headlines dominate, this is our chance, through individual acts of kindness, to collectively change the world. “
Just how does one be likeable on social media? Five easy actions are recommended:
- Give a compliment on Instagram.
- Promote someone else’s work on Twitter.
- Share gratitude for people on Facebook.
- Give a recommendation on LinkedIn.
- Say sorry, thanks, or something nice online
What’s the Use?
Along with showing your friends and family (or complete strangers) a little extra kindness, you’ll also be helping yourself out. A study conducted by Yale and UCLA researchers shows that small, daily gestures of kindness can be used to diffuse stress and improve mental health.
“The take-home message is that when we are stressed and we help others, we can also end up helping ourselves,” study author Emily Ansell, assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine, told CBS News.
So take to the internet and be kind on behalf of #BeLikeableDay. And if you miss it on 2/26, there are 364 other days of the year to take part in this practice.