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Is going viral on the internet a genuine substitute for having friends?

I do wonder if someone would be elated about receiving hundreds of cards and well-wishes from strangers that they don't know? A sort of well-meant superficial gesture for an individual. Know that if I were in a similar situation, I wouldn't like such a thing.

Have seen instances of parents requesting cards and emails for sick children in hospitals. This young man is neither ill nor a child so it appears a little like misplaced sentiment.

People used to write to soldiers during the wars, to help with their loneliness when they didn't have family writing to them, as part of the war effort. I don't know if receiving mail while stationed in a strange county, by a well meaning stranger helped them in any way. Perhaps it did.
 
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IMO going viral on the internet is one of the worst things that can happen to you (unless you're specifically looking for internet fame). There are so many incredibly hateful people online, I'd never want to make myself a target for them in any way.
I would be horrified if someone did this for me. I've had birthday parties where hardly anyone showed up or called, which was painful, but to me it would only be more painful to receive messages from people I don't know, that are sending me cards to feel better about themselves.
 
I'm sure the sister meant well, but if it were me I'd be absolutely mortified. Hope it doesn't blow up in her face.
 
Going viral is getting talked about for 15 minutes. I like the idea but what do they do with all of that mail that piles up? Do they throw it away or save them all?
 
I suppose that the sentiment behind it is sweet, but it's so superficial.
How do letters or cards from perfect strangers compare to cards from people you know? Maybe it's just me, but what would make me sad about not getting cards is not so much the sheer number as the realization that I don't matter to people who matter to me, and strangers don't fall in that category.

Also, if this were to happen to me & I were flooded with wishes from strangers, not going to lie: I'd be freaking out that I need to reply to a massive number of people. And to tell them what? You need to add some coating to that "thank you", otherwise it's going to be so dry it'll sound forced (when in reality, it circles back to the previous point on strangers: what do you tell a total stranger? How do you build rapport?).

I also can't help but wonder how much of those initiatives are really about the recipient, and how much are about the initiator feeling good about themselves that they got their 15 minutes of fame. You know, until a dog who can yap backwards or a cat who walks on his hindlegs goes even more viral.
 
Katleya said:
I suppose that the sentiment behind it is sweet, but it's so superficial.
How do letters or cards from perfect strangers compare to cards from people you know? Maybe it's just me, but what would make me sad about not getting cards is not so much the sheer number as the realization that I don't matter to people who matter to me, and strangers don't fall in that category.

Also, if this were to happen to me & I were flooded with wishes from strangers, not going to lie: I'd be freaking out that I need to reply to a massive number of people. And to tell them what? You need to add some coating to that "thank you", otherwise it's going to be so dry it'll sound forced (when in reality, it circles back to the previous point on strangers: what do you tell a total stranger? How do you build rapport?).

I also can't help but wonder how much of those initiatives are really about the recipient, and how much are about the initiator feeling good about themselves that they got their 15 minutes of fame. You know, until a dog who can yap backwards or a cat who walks on his hindlegs goes even more viral.
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It's an indictment of society that he is being rejected by his community nothing is going to change that
I wonder if he's innocent enough to be happy by strangers sending him greetings
 
Mia said:
I do wonder if someone would be elated about receiving hundreds of cards and well-wishes from strangers that they don't know? A sort of well-meant superficial gesture for an individual. Know that if I were in a similar situation, I wouldn't like such a thing.

Have seen instances of parents requesting cards and emails for sick children in hospitals. This young man is neither ill nor a child so it appears a little like misplaced sentiment.

People used to write to soldiers during the wars, to help with their loneliness when they didn't have family writing to them, as part of the war effort. I don't know if receiving mail while stationed in a strange county, by a well meaning stranger helped them in any way. Perhaps it did.
Click to expand...

Writing letters to lonely soldiers probably helped a lot. It would remind them that someone cares and give them courage to keep fighting. That practice continues somewhat to this day in the form of care packages. But that is an entirely different situation. I would rather spend meaningful time with one or two people who really care than receive thousands of cards from strangers.
 
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