Be kind - that’s the slogan. A handy little hashtag you can pop in your bio to show to the world that you too can #BeKind. Unfortunately if it was that easy we wouldn’t need the BeKind campaign and Social Media Kindness Day in the first place.

I first got the idea to write this post after reading a blog post by Thistleflat Crafts - Leaving those glitter trails of kindness - please go and read it immediately as she absolutely nails it. And her words really stuck with me.

She wrote about how kindness is often perceived to be weak or passive which in fact it is anything but. Far from being the easy option it is an active response. A deliberate choice, often made under difficult circumstances and it often requires a lot of effort or thought to ‘be kind’.

All too often on social media you see #BeKind on someone’s profile or bio and then scroll through their feed to find shining, glaring examples of them being less than kind to others. Retweeting hatred, mocking others, indulging in hurtful ‘celeb’ gossip - downright bullying sometimes, let’s face it.

Be kind is often used as a shorthand for ‘be kind to me while I continue to be unkind to others’

Anyone can put #BeKind in their bio. It takes a very different person to bring that behaviour through into their everyday life and their dealings with others. Particularly on social media, the kind response might actually be one you can’t see. It looks like walking away from an argument that someone is trying to pick with you or not joining in with the latest gossip/drama in your sphere.

Sometimes ‘BeKind’ is invisible. Unseen, unthanked and you can’t share a selfie of yourself doing it.