The Internet could use some kindness, don't you think? We're constantly bombarded by bad news and our own real-life struggles, so a pick-me-up can't hurt now and again. We could use some kindness in real life, too. As a famous CGI movie bear once said, "It doesn't cost me anything to be kind."
This Facebook group lives by a similar motto: "Kind Humour is international and at no one's expense." It's the perfect place for your daily dose of wholesome, and we've got some memes and funny pics from the group to prove it. If you like what you see here, be sure to check out their group, where they do interactive memes, pun challenges, puzzles, and discussions!
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Image credits: SGconcept
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Image credits: Ed Luksic
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Image credits: Victoria Ahmer
Kindness is a thing many of us could use nowadays. The period we're living in is probably the worst in terms of our mental health. 77% of professionals in the U.S. say they feel burnt out at work. Depression rates keep getting higher each year, too. According to a Gallup survey, 29% of Americans are living with lifetime depression. In 2015, that number was only 19%.
The problem is many people are still embarrassed or afraid to talk about the issues they face. According to McLean Hospital, people "believe they are unworthy or should be able to control their symptoms through willpower." That's where kindness comes in -- kindness to understand each other and help each other when the going gets tough.
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Image credits: Melanie C Smith
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Image credits: Ed Luksic
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Image credits: Snatched By Marvette
Why exactly do we need kindness, you ask? Well, when someone's nice or sweet to us, it has a physical effect. Kind acts decrease our blood pressure and the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. It also has an impact on our mental health. Kindness boosts our levels of serotonin and dopamine.
When we show kindness, our brain may also release endorphins, the body's natural painkiller, and they increase feelings of well-being. Kind acts also help us feel less lonely and more connected to others. It may even be contagious, as we might be encouraged to do good, kind acts in return.
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Image credits: Pat Garfield
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Image credits: Melanie C Smith
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Image credits: Marshall Tanquist
A veteran emergency physician and the author of The Power of Kindness: Why Empathy Is Essential in Everyday Life, Dr. Brian Goldman, posits that the current world, especially the digital space, is brimming with unkindness. "I think we are getting addicted to speed, being right, fast transactions, not tuning into others," he told Chatelaine.
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Image credits: Nabila Chaudhry
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Image credits: Ed Luksic
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Image credits: Carol Lewis
"[We're] criticizing or mocking people who are slower, people who talk slower or take longer to formulate their thoughts," Dr. Goldman says. "It's as if quick wit is the only prized possession and the only prized attribute for social interactions. You see so often, the quick put-downs on Twitter that slay a person and embarrass them."
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Image credits: Victoria Ahmer
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Image credits: Ed Luksic
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Image credits: Ed Luksic
This need to always dunk on somebody and have a witty comeback presupposes that kindness is a weakness. Being earnest often gets conflated with being cheesy or cringy. Irony and sarcasm are the rulers of the Internet, aren't they? So why, if kindness is so good for us, do we run away from it so much?
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Image credits: SGconcept
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Image credits: Marshall Tanquist
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Image credits: Ed Luksic
As Charlotte Armitage, a media and business psychologist, explained to Stylist, it's because in order to show kindness, we have to be vulnerable. "Those who go out of their way to help another are seen as weak because it appears as though they are putting the needs of someone else before their own needs," she explained.
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Image credits: Victoria Ahmer
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Image credits: Melanie C Smith
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Image credits: Ed Luksic
For other people, kindness is also not cool. According to clinical psychologist Barbara Greenberg, parents nowadays raise 'strong' children instead of empathetic kids. "In many households that is synonymous with taking care of yourself, with little emphasis on the feelings of others." She says that people perceive bad and mean characters on television as 'cool and strong.'
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Image credits: SGconcept
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Image credits: Comic Guru
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Image credits: Ed Luksic
However, experts say that it's quite the opposite. Those who are able to show kindness can show vulnerability and don't have to hide behind barriers of sarcasm and irony. In short, they feel secure in the way they are as a person.
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Image credits: Sheryl Hill
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"To truly offer kindness shows a level of psychological strength and resilience which is grounded in acceptance of oneself. This level of acceptance requires a significant amount of internal strength and takes hard work to achieve," Armitage explained to Stylist.
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Image credits: SGconcept
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Image credits: SGconcept
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Image credits: Baran Walter
So, let's all take a page out of the Kind Humour group and be kinder to each other. Laugh, but at nobody's expense. Enjoy conversations, but don't complain, explain (only if someone asks), correct others, swear, or overshare. That's all in their bio, so if you find this list compelling, be sure to check them out on Facebook!
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Image credits: Ramon Del Villar
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Image credits: Nabila Chaudhry
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Image credits: Sheryl Hill
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Image credits: SGconcept
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Image credits: Marshall Tanquist
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Image credits: Xandria Elizabeth
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Image credits: Emi&Bless Life
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