Most kids love to explore, question, and investigate things. One sixth-grader displayed her sharp detective skills with a note she left on a car that had been hit by her school bus. When the car owner, Andrew Sipowicz, found this note on his 2012 Red Ford Mustang, his anger took the shape of laughter, reported CNN.
Representative Image Source: Promotional shot of a red 1964 Ford Mustang convertible parked in a forest clearing with a couple sitting by a pine tree, 1964. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)
In November 2018, Andrew was a student and college baseball player at Canisius College, Buffalo, New York. One day, as he walked to his car parked near his house, he found a mysterious note taped to his car. Awed by the note, he took to X and shared photos of his dented car and the note. The post got quickly shared over social media and currently has over 995,000 likes and nearly 220,000 comments.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Olly
The anonymous note signed as “by the 6th grader at Houghten Academy” read, “If you’re wondering what happened to your car, Bus: 499 hit your car. It stops here every day to drop me off at 5:00 p.m. What happened? She was trying to pull off and hit the car. She hit and run. She tried to veer over and squeeze through, but couldn't. She actually squeezed through. She made a dent and I saw what happened.” The note writer ended the note with an apology, “Sorry.”
At the bottom of the note, the young detective revealed that the bus was a Buffalo Public School bus. She also drew a cute bus doodle, tagging it as “the bus that hit your car” with kids peeking through the bus window. Andrew said that he immensely liked this drawing, adding that he felt his “mood went from angered to more relaxed” after he read the note.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | RDNE
Following up, Andrew called the bus company, “First Student,” and spoke to a representative. The company confirmed in a statement to CNN that the car’s insurance process was in progress. “We will cover the full cost of the repair to his vehicle as well as a loaner while his car is in the shop,” the company officials said, adding that the bus driver in question would be terminated.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Churchart Online
Andrew also reached out to a teacher from the Buffalo PS 69 Houghton Academy who immediately recognized the handwriting in the note. Kevin Garcia, vice principal of the school, told CNN affiliate WKBW, that the school would celebrate the student’s “outstanding leadership” by presenting the child with a citizenship award. In an update on X, Andrew wrote that he was grateful to the “sixth grader.” "The student who wrote the letter has been found,” he wrote, “and we're in the process of finding a way to reward her for her actions. Very grateful for what she did.”
Although the sixth grader's name was not revealed to the public, she became a hero among people. Talking about her, @Itadowler said, “A journalist in the making. How adorable.” @katiephang quipped, “Quick! Someone hire this kid to run the United States!”
Many people loved the bus doodle and commented about it. @depazz_ compared the doodle artist with “Picasso.” @bentosmd called it similar to “Perry the Platypus.” @dimaismadduh shared their own similar experience of reading a note left by the witness of a hit-and-run driver.
Later on, Andrew revealed that he was planning to meet the girl, and possibly give her an early Christmas present for her good deed, reported Sinclair Broadcast Group. "I'm looking into going to meet her in person next week and thank her for what she did," he said.
This article originally appeared 3 months ago.
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Why do some folks use social media but don't engage?
Psychologist says people who never comment on social media share these 5 positive traits
For over 20 years, social media has developed into a staple in many people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s to keep in communication with friends and family, following the thoughts of celebrities, or watching cat videos while sipping your morning coffee, there seem to be two types of social media users: commenters and lurkers.
The term “lurker” sounds equally mysterious and insidious, with some social media users writing them off as non-participants at best or voyeurs at worst. However, mindfulness expert Lachlan Brown believes these non-commenters have some very psychologically positive and healthy traits. Let’s take a look at how each one of these traits could be beneficial and see how fruitful lurking might be even though it can drive content creators crazy.
1. Cautious about vulnerability
Consciously or not, making a post online or commenting on one puts you and your words out there. It’s a statement that everyone can see, even if it’s as simple as clicking “like.” Doing so opens yourself up to judgment, with all the good, bad, and potential misinterpretation that comes with it. Non-commenters would rather not open themselves up to that.
These silent users are connected to a concept of self-protection by simply not engaging. By just scrolling past posts or just reading/watching them without commentary, they’re preventing themselves from any downsides of sharing an opinion such as rejection, misunderstanding, or embarrassment. They also have more control on how much of themselves they’re willing to reveal to the general public, and tend to be more open face-to-face or during one-on-one/one-on-few private chats or DMs. This can be seen as a healthy boundary and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Considering many comment sections, especially involving political topics, are meant to stir negative emotional responses to increase engagement, being extra mindful about where, when, and what you comment might not be a bad idea. They might not even take the engagement bait at all. Or if they see a friend of theirs post something vulnerable, they feel more motivated to engage with them personally one-on-one rather than use social media to publicly check in on them.
2. Analytical and reflective mindset
How many times have you gone onto Reddit, YouTube, or any other site and just skimmed past comments that are just different versions of “yes, and,” “no, but,” or “yes, but”? Or the ever insightful, formerly popular comment “First!” in a thread? These silent browsers lean against adding to such noise unless they have some valid and thoughtful contribution (if they bother to comment period).
These non-posters are likely wired on reflective thinking rather than their initial intuition. Not to say that all those who comment aren’t thoughtful, but many tend to react quickly and comment based on their initial feelings rather than absorbing the information, thinking it over, researching or testing their belief, and then posting it. For "lurkers," it could by their very nature to just do all of that and not post it at all, or share their thoughts and findings privately with a friend. All in all, it’s a preference of substance over speed.
3. High sense of self-awareness
Carried over from the first two listed traits, these silent social media users incorporate their concern over their vulnerability and their reflective mindset into digital self-awareness. They know what triggers responses out of them and what causes them to engage in impulsive behavior. It could be that they have engaged with a troll in the past and felt foolish. Or that they just felt sad after a post or got into an unnecessary argument that impacted them offline. By knowing themselves and seeing what’s being discussed, they choose to weigh their words carefully or just not participate at all. It’s a form of self-preservation through restraint.
4. Prefer to observe rather than perform
Some folks treat social media as information, entertainment, or a mix of both, and commenting can feel like they’re yelling at the TV, clapping alone in a movie theater when the credits roll, or yelling “That’s not true!” to a news anchor that will never hear them. But contrary to that, social media is a place where those yells, claps, and accusations can be seen and get a response. By its design, social media is considered by experts and the media as performative, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Taking all of the previously mentioned traits into account, one can see why they would prefer to “observe the play” rather than get up on the stage of Facebook or X.
On top of that, these non-commenters could be using social media differently than those who choose to fully engage with it. Using this type of navigation, there may be nothing for them to comment about. Some commenters are even vying for this for their mental health. There are articles about how to better curate your social media feeds and manipulate algorithms to create a better social media experience to avoid unnecessary conflict or mentally tiring debate.
If you go on a blocking spree on all of your accounts and just follow the posters that boost you, it could turn your social media into a nice part of your routine as you mainly engage with others face-to-face or privately. In terms of commenting, if your curated Instagram is just following cute dogs and all you have to offer for a comment is “cute dog,” you might just enjoy the picture and then move on with your day rather than join in the noise. These non-commenters aren’t in the show and they’re fine with it.
5. Less motivated by social validation
The last trait that Brown showcases is that social media users who browse without posting tend to be independent from external validation, at least online. Social media is built to grow through feedback loops such as awarding likes, shares, and reposts of your content along with notifications letting you know that a new person follows you or wants to connect. This can lead many people to connect their activity on social media with their sense of self worth, especially with adolescents who are still figuring out their place in the world and have still-developing brains.
Engaging in social media via likes, shares, comments, and posts rewards our brains by having them release dopamine, which makes us feel good and can easily become addictive. For whatever reason, non-commenters don’t rely on social media as a means to gauge their social capital or self worth. This doesn’t make them better than those who do. While some non-commenters could have healthier ways to boost their self worth or release dopamine into their systems, many get that validation from equally unhealthy sources offline. That said, many non-commenters’ silence could be a display of independence and self confidence.
Whether you frequently comment online or don’t, it’s good to understand why you do or don’t. Analyzing your habits can help you determine whether your online engagement is healthy, or needs to be tweaked. With that information, you can then create a healthy social media experience that works for you.