It's not up to me... Someone else will do it

Have you ever been watching an ad by a charity on TV that asks you to donate money to starving people in Africa and thought to yourself, that is truly terrible situation they are in, but I am too busy to give money and in any case someone else will give money.

I know it sounds horrible and I’m not saying that we all assume this, however most people do. The term for this social part of human behaviour is commonly called the Bystander Effect. This theory is the phenomenon in which a large group of people are less likely to help a person in need than an individual. In my opinion this is people that are afraid to stand out fromthe everyday crowd to help someone or to aid many people. There are two major factors that come into play with the occurrence of the bystander effect: the lack of responsibility, and the need to behave in a socially correct way.

The first factor has to do with being taking responsibility as an onlooker of the situation, usually in a group. When an accident happens a lot of people usually gather round and just look at it. Instead of helping, the observer just watches and talks about what has just happened with people among the group, not feeling any sense of responsibility towards the emergency. Another factor that comes into play is that you socially behave in a correct and acceptable ways. Most people frown upon a person doing something different that does not fit in everyday society. So when people fail to attend and help the situation it influences the whole group... so in theory none of them will help. Humans are naturally like that. We are worried that if we do something different we are going to be judged -even if it’s an act of kindness.

This is where charities come in, and the people who work for them. They are not afraid to stand out and give a helping hand to those who need helping. Most people are scared of getting judged and doing something different. It just takes one person to make an improvement in this world. We cannot sit around doing nothing to help and assume that people are going to help those in poverty, sickness, and hunger. No matter how many charities there are, they cannot help everyone. We can help people have the benefits and necessities that we have in developed countries. So next time you see a person in need, don’t be afraid to reach out and give them a helping hand. You will feel fantastic.

Guest Blogger: Dan Ashworth

Guest Blogger: My name is Dan Ashworth and I have a physical challenge called Cerebral Palsy. This does not stop me from doing anything! I am from the U.K., however, I moved to Australia, then the U.S., and I'm currently living in Canada. At the age of seventeen I'm interested in subjects such as economics, business, philosophy, writing, and psychology. I find that all of these topics help me understand humans all together and how our native instincts come into play in everyday life. I feel like we are so caught up in the wave of life we forget who we are, and lose the questioning of our actions and thoughts. That's why I'm writing blogs to properly research our psyche, what we are thinking about, and the hidden secrets of our weird and wonderful minds.