Have you ever been told, fidnish your food, there are starving kids in africa?

Shift= internet advances how we express our burden

purse ease of internet makes this so much realer

We’re all called to do something. Maybe it’s to go to college to become a doctor. Maybe it’s to be a good friend. Maybe it’s to go across the world to a 3rd world country to help in a poverty-stricken village. The tedious balance for a desire to change the world and the desire for validation, as well as the yearning for success, has caused us to do anything their calling

So about that last thing. Sounds selfless and wonderful. But.. is it all totally innocent? The answer is

  

Maybe

“volunteer tourism”. This is an interesting phrase I had never heard until I was asked to go on my second mission trip. Its name offers no real explanation for what it is, but let’s dive in.

 

In today’s society

There are very few people who don’t know this logo. Instagram, the relatively new social media phenomenon that slowly rules more and more of our lives. We all want to look good, we all want the best Instagram post, and sometimes that comes at the cost of others. Sometimes that just means a really unflattering picture of your friend that you post because you look good in it, but sometimes it’s at the cost of people we consider to be minorities.

It’s no secret over time, social media has made our priorities change. But not only that, they allow us to broadcast ourselves and give and receive virtual pats on the back for the great things you do. Admit it or don’t, getting “liked” online feels good. And we’ve found ways to maximize our “likes”. Through fancy filters or fabulous vacations, we love to market ourselves as “likable” in a way that wasn’t even possible 10 years ago.

 

“in Uganda, I became used to seeing groups of young people come for week-long visits at the orphanage where I taught English. They would play with the kids, give them a bracelet or something, and then leave all-smiles, thinking they just saved Africa. ”

This picture is worth 1000 words. The contrast between what we know and what we see is so powerful. The kids are all smiles, alongside who is clearly a foreign missionary or service trip member. She smiles for a selfie. But why? Is it to remember her trip, or is it to get some likes?

I truly believe that the heart behind service and mission trips is there. Although it may be a good travel opportunity, at the end of the day people do have to know that at some point they’re going to have to buckle down and work.But why else? what happens when this isn’t one’s only primary value?

This. You get the “savior” complex. Something is very true about trips like these- yes, you can make a small impact. Are you changing the world? no. Is there a chance you don’t even change someone’s life? yes. According to research from Noelle Sullivan, an assistant professor of instruction in global health studies at Northwestern University, many people who go on these trips if any impact, make a negative one. They spend thousands of dollars, to support a billion dollar industry, to spend one-week doing jobs they aren’t even qualified to do.

The hard to swallow pill? There is next to no reason for you to spend your break in another country.

 

 

But rather than assuming peoples intentions, which there is no basis for, why don’t we analyze the factors that cause us to do good. College admissions, job competition and the pressures of being a young person reaching for a professional career all affect the extra measures we take to ensure a competitive edge in this world. 

Students are challenged and therefore have the urge to not only travel while they can but to pad their resumes extensively in order to be more marketable.

 

According to The Washington Post, less and less companies are recruiting as many students as they once did, and requirements for these positions are becoming more and more extreme.

Students are slowly being vetted, and are racing to appear as well rounded and involved as possible and are given a great opportunity with these service-based trips that can  give them hours and experience in the field that they want to pursue, because when it comes down to it, a student with hours of experience, even if it was mediocre work in another country is still more marketable than someone with none.

 

 

 

 

We live in a world where the pressure of family, college and jobs control our life, but we also have the ability to promote everything we do online. This balance of knowing when to post and when to just sit and listen is a slippery slope. These trips can be good for our personal growth, but it’s up to us to be cautious about what we post, and why, and the real impact we have.

 

Thank you

 

–look at rise of voluntourism 

–Less skeptical, more facts 

–deeper analyzation

-believe then doubt

-why people want to connect at all

-what are the ideology and urges

–Discuss social media towards the end, the visuals that come from it 

–think of it as the influences

-Discuss stats about how our generation is more volunteer-based and global

College applications

Thesis-

–

 

 

 

continue on with this idea…..

 

 

Part B

-Discuss the damage voluntourism can have and how our priorities have changed with the presence of social media

 

Part C

• conclude
• discuss the effect we can have when we act like this for “clout”
• the damage we’re doing behind the scenes
• why can’t we just be real?