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The Mass Media

The Mass Media

Kindness and why it matters

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Maya Martinez
Two different hands hold a paper heart. Photo by Maya Martinez / Mass Media Staff

Kindness is shown through the everyday acts we do in our daily lives. From small acts of kindness, like holding the door for the next person entering the building as you step inside, to larger expressions of kindness, like donating a kidney to save someone’s life, kindness is something that gives us happiness and puts smiles on others’ faces.

Remember to always be kind to everyone because you never know what they’re going through. Life is too short to spend time being mad at someone or holding a grudge. We need to let go of negative thoughts and bring positivity to our minds. “Be Kind. Always.” is a movement created by Jessica and Timothy Griffin to eliminate the stigma on mental health and support a great cause. The “Be Kind. Always.” Foundation inspires people by spreading awareness about suicide prevention and mental health. Kindness is free, and you can share it with anyone in the world! Whether it is with your friends, family, loved ones, or even someone you don’t know, kindness can bring you the greatest happiness.
Always remember to treat people with kindness because it can truly affect their mental health. They may be going through a rough time and, more often than not, it’s something we may not realize. According to BuzzFeed, kindness is actually beneficial to your mental health. From my experience, in high school I volunteered at a library in my city. When I helped someone find a book they were looking for, it gave me a sense of satisfaction and happiness. From the scientific point of view, as mentioned by BuzzFeed, being kind is good for your heart. By doing small acts of kindness each day, we make ourselves better people. For example, by saying words like “please” and “thank you”, we make people feel like we are grateful for their help. Ultimately, it gives us happiness to see how others appreciate our kindness. We feel more connected with people if they are nice to us. By expressing kindness, we can eliminate negative thoughts from our minds and make this world a better place.
Have you ever thought about what’s going through the mind of the person sitting next to you on the bus? Chances are they may be stressed about something or feeling lonely. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, people have experienced extreme levels of loneliness—levels that can be detrimental to their health. Many of us avoided social gatherings, ordered groceries online and rarely stepped out of our own each week.

Just by giving someone a smile, you could help to eliminate their stress. Kindness is the start of friendships. Before you know it, someone might feel comfortable enough to share their feelings with you without feeling like they will be judged. It is one of the most powerful things in the world and a form of humanity. Kindness.org has many different ways you can be kind in your own community. We need to have more respect for each other, and rather than judging people, we should make them feel as though they belong in this world. Millions of people are struggling with depression, anxiety, bullying and more; kindness can help them recover through happiness. More often than not, we aren’t taught to be kind and, instead, the ability comes to us naturally. Kindness is necessary for all of our relationships whether they are personal or professional. Without it, our world is incomplete.

  1. https://bekindalways.org/what-we-do/

  2. https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomvellner/why-kindness-matters-according-to-science

  3. https://www.simple.co.uk/acts-of-kindness.html

  4. https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/loneliness-in-america

About the Contributors
Aanchal Kumar, Opinions Writer
Maya Martinez, Photographer