I don't remember when exactly this started happening, maybe it was gradual. Maybe it was the result of years of carrying a smartphone around and having the entire world squeezed into a six-inch screen. But these days, opening social media feels different. I go there for a quick break between tasks, maybe scrolling Instagram reels, maybe a cricket highlight or photos from someone's vacation.
Few minutes later, I'm looking at students protesting because an exam process was compromised. Women facing things they never should have to face. People losing faith in institutions that are supposed to protect them. The same debates, The same outrage, The same disappointment.
By the time I close the app, I am left with a strange mixture of rage, helplessness and exhaustion about things I wasn't even thinking about ten minutes ago.
The strange thing is that none of these things directly affect my day. I still have work to do. I still have bills to pay. I still have coffee getting cold beside my laptop. I am just another citizen scrolling through headlines during lunch breaks and before going to sleep.
Yet somehow these stories affect me. Not directly, perhaps but emotionally. Because every headline is a reminder that we all live inside the same system.
Sometimes I wonder if social media has accidentally turned all of us into part-time spectators of every problem in the country. A hundred years ago, most people worried about what was happening in their town. Today, before breakfast, I can be angry about something that happened hundreds of kilometres away, disappointed by something else & anxious about three more things I barely understand.
It's exhausting.
Yet I don't want to become the kind of person who simply shrugs and says, "Not my problem." Because some of these things matter. Infact, a lot of them matter. Education matters, Safety matters, Justice matters, Trust in institutions matters.
A society does not become better because a few people care. It becomes better because enough people refuse to stop caring.
But then I run into another problem: What exactly am I supposed to do? Most of the time, the answer seems to be... nothing. I can be angry, I can repost something, I can argue with strangers in a comment section. None of that seems particularly useful.
That's the part I struggle with, not the problems themselves, but the feeling of powerlessness. It's like standing in front of a giant machine that's making strange noises and being told that you're responsible for fixing it. The problems seem too large, too complex & too deeply rooted.
One person cannot fix a judicial system. One person cannot reform education. One person cannot eliminate corruption. That’s where many of us end up. We stop reading, We stop caring. We decide to “stay in our lane.” There is a certain comfort in that decision because at some point, protecting your peace starts to sound reasonable.
Sometimes I wonder if that is the healthiest approach but another part of me resists it. Because complete indifference feels wrong too.
So these days, I'm trying to find some middle ground. Maybe the answer is somewhere between outrage and apathy.
Maybe I don’t need to carry the weight of every national problem on my shoulders.
Maybe I don’t need to spend time arguing online.
Maybe I don’t need to turn every conversation into a political debate.
But at the same time I also shouldn’t become numb.
Perhaps my responsibility is smaller, but still meaningful.
To stay informed without becoming consumed. To think critically instead of accepting every viral post. To support fairness when I encounter unfairness. To vote thoughtfully. To help people around me. To contribute positively in whatever field I work in.
None of these actions will make headlines. None of them will solve the country’s biggest problems overnight.
But they are real and they are within my control.
The internet often presents us with two choices: rage about everything or care about nothing. Neither seems sustainable. I am still trying to find a third path. A path where I remain aware without becoming bitter. Where I remain hopeful without ignoring reality. Where I care enough to contribute, but not so much that I lose myself in problems I cannot control.
Perhaps asking the question is a good place to start. Should I care? or should I just stay in my lane?
Maybe being a responsible citizen means learning how to do both at the same time.