"Virtual life" beautifies real life!

(Baonghean) - An unusually early flood submerged hundreds of hectares of melons and other vegetables in Quang Nam province. Another melon crop lost, and farmers in Quang Nam faced poverty. This outcome seemed inevitable. But at the last minute, the "melon rot situation during the flood" dramatically reversed, like a fairytale: all the melons were bought up. The losses were minimized. The bitterness was replaced by a sweet taste and the warmth of human kindness.

The people who made that miracle happen were none other than the young people. It started with a group of young people from the "Youth Solidarity Club" (Quang Nam province) who initiated a movement called "Helping farmers in flood-affected areas of Quang Nam sell their produce." From this club, many other clubs joined together to form a widespread movement. It transcended the boundaries of Quang Nam province, reaching other provinces and cities, and then spreading to streets and small markets in many places. The movement to buy watermelons from flood-affected areas spread rapidly and powerfully. Trucks with license plates from other provinces flocked to the watermelon-growing regions of Quang Nam to buy up the flood-damaged watermelons at prices significantly higher than those offered by traders. These "young traders" weren't buying watermelons for money, but out of compassion for the farmers in the flood-stricken areas. The event happened so quickly, unexpectedly, and widely that not only the farmers of Quang Nam but everyone else was astonished and moved to tears.

Of course, to gain such rapid and strong support, the significant contribution of a supporting tool—social media—must be mentioned... Historically, people have mainly complained and called for caution regarding social media, urging others not to let "the virtual world ruin real life." Therefore, people are wary. Ideological agencies view social media as an "enemy," calling for boycotts and strict control... forgetting the crucial task of transforming social media into a sharp weapon to effectively serve ideological work. It should become a powerful tool for guiding public opinion and thought in a positive and beneficial direction. From the story of selling watermelons to help flood victims, agencies responsible for ideological work and public opinion guidance need to change their one-sided views. They should also see social media as a tool for connecting individuals with society in an advanced and effective way. Instead of passively sitting in one place planning, drafting documents, directives, or organizing conferences and seminars demanding this or that, we should be proactive and actively connect with social networks on the internet to sow seeds of goodness in the way that young people in Quang Nam have done. That is a way of doing ideological work that is both immediately relevant to life and has practical results.

We must learn to use the "virtual life" to beautify and enrich real life!

Duy Huong