Social media case reflection -what a blog post can do for a little boy

By Mikala Lindhardt

 For Batkid video click here. 

            There are many blogs and Facebook groups that it can be overwhelming at times. This social media case reflection is a story about a little boy, sick with leukemia, who had a desire to be batman. A simple blog post turned the whole San Francisco city into Gotham and let Miles Scott live his dream as saving a city and being a hero.

            Now there may be people who will argue this was such a waste of time and money, but can you imagine what that little boy has gone through the past few years of his life trying to battle a sickness a majority of young boys don’t even have to think about. I like to think of the unity that was made between people in a city. When separate individuals come together to support a cause, it changes people’s lives. I would argue Miles Scott’s life wasn’t the only one touched that day.

            ABCNews even commented on the feelings and emotions that day and said, “A little boy's wish galvanized San Francisco today and melted the hearts of people around the world who followed his exploits as the city transformed into Gotham to fulfill the 5-year-old leukemia patient's wish to be Batman for a day.” Hearts were ‘melted’ and changed that day as they not only watched a little boy fight and concur the villains, but fight and concur leukemia.

            We talk about viral videos and what makes them viral. There are exciting viral videos, funny viral videos but there are life-changing and tear-jerking viral videos. This news story and video just happen to be the tear jerking kind. A local San Francisco news agency reported this story and said, “Miles has become an internet sensation as the project which has taken on a life of its own through social media. The 5-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 20 months old and ended chemotherapy treatment in June, with the cancer now in remission, Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area executive director Patricia Wilson said.”

            This little boy doesn’t realize what he has done for so many people. He was greeted by hundreds of people throughout the day cheering his name. He was given a real batman costume to wear and a car was transformed into a bat-mobile he could ride in to go from villain to villain.

            His father, during one of the interviews that day said Miles was getting tired throughout the day (just like he does everyday because leukemia can be exhausting), but the amazing thing was he just kept pushing through the exhaustion because he felt he had to save the city.

            There are all kinds of news stories out there, but this exploded and grew through a simple blog post and was shared on social media. Whether you think social media is good or evil, I would argue you can change lives for good with it.