Episode 54: Are Influencers Ruining Kindness?

Someone pays for a stranger's groceries. The help is real. But did the person want their difficult moment shared with millions of people?

Greg Shaw, Rich, Liam, and Sarah talk about kindness videos, money, consent, and what happens when someone's private struggle becomes online content.

We leave room for different answers, including why these videos can move us and why some make us uncomfortable.

We discuss:

• Whether someone who needs help can freely say no to being filmed.

• Why receiving help shouldn't come with a test of gratitude.

• What changes when creators, brands, or television shows earn money from a good deed.

• How to share kindness while protecting someone's privacy.

• Sarah's family tradition of leaving dollar bills at hospital vending machines.

• Small ways to help without asking for a public reaction.

In What's on Your Heart, we talk about time with loved ones, challenging racism and homophobia, receiving unexpected kindness, and living with pain.

This week's challenge

Send a private thank-you to someone whose support mattered to you.

Or offer a small act of help and let the other person choose what they share.

If you want to tell their story online, make sure they can say no without losing the help.

One question to take away: What rule would you want every kindness creator to follow?

Listen to Episode 54: https://kindnessrx.org/54

More episodes: https://kindnessrx.org/listen

Free online peer support groups: https://kindnessrx.org/groups

Brain injury: Mondays.

Chronic pain: Tuesdays.

Mental health: Wednesdays.

Research mentioned in the episode

American Psychiatric Association, 2023 Healthy Minds Poll:

https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/new-poll-small-acts-of-kindness-benefits

Among 2,210 U.S. adults surveyed, 90% said receiving kindness made them feel at least a little better.

This was a self-report poll, not a study of being filmed or of kindness videos.

Further reading, added after recording

Elizabeth Dunn's TED Talk on helping and happiness:

https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_dunn_helping_others_makes_us_happier_but_it_matters_how_we_do_it

UNICEF's ethical reporting guidance, including children's privacy and dignity:

https://www.unicef.org/media/reporting-guidelines

A clarification about recording

• Our discussion includes broad comments about filming people in public.
• Recording and publication rules vary by location and circumstances.
• Being in public doesn't settle every question about audio consent, privacy, or commercial use.

A useful U.S. starting point is the Reporters Committee's state-by-state guide:

https://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/

Content note: Financial hardship, homelessness, vulnerability, caregiving, racism, homophobia, and occasional strong language.

This is a peer conversation.

Our groups and podcast do not replace therapy, medical care, or professional advice.