When the students from the Raymond Hall campus of Providence College learned that their favorite security guard, James Mogaji, hadn’t met his family in Nigeria for 11 years, they stepped forward for help. As per ABC-affiliated WCVB-TV, Brandon Reichert, a freshman student from the college, created a GoFundMe page in February to organize a fundraising campaign for James. The students were able to raise nearly $3,000 within the first 24 hours, and over $30,000 altogether. When they surprised James with the money to visit his family, he broke down in tears.
On March 1, Brandon requested his friends and followers on X (formerly Twitter) to help him raise funds for James. "Any donation is appreciated," he wrote in his post, in which he also added a link to the fundraising page. The GoFundMe page was titled “Help James Visit His Family," and on it, Brandon explained why James mattered so much to all of them. “James is without a doubt the best security guard here at Providence College. He works four overnight shifts a week. For those of you who don't know James, he truly is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He greets everybody with a smile and always welcomes conversations no matter what time of the night you run into him. He has expressed how much he enjoys his job here at PC, and we would love to be able to allow him to visit his family. He does not know how much we appreciate him, and hope that this shows to him how much he means to our community," it read.
When the students handed the money to the security guard, he got emotional and couldn't stop sobbing. It was a heartwarming sight, and for a moment, the students and James felt like a family.
Brandon posted an update on the page, saying, “Tonight, we were able to gift James with enough money for him to travel to Nigeria to visit his family in June! I’d like to thank everyone who donated as you can see what an impact you made on such an incredible man. All further donations will be given to James at the end of the school year in May to fund another trip!”
Showering James with praises, Brandon added, "He's just the kindest soul anyone has ever met in this building. He means so much to us he's so important. It was amazing how fast everyone connected and were able to put it together for him." The other student who helped organize this campaign with Brandon was Daniel Singh. Once they had organized the campaign, they walked to James and sophomore student Daniel revealed the plan to him, "You told us a while ago that you wanted to see your family in Nigeria that you haven’t seen in a long time, so we came together and spread the word, and we started a GoFundMe because we take care of our own because that’s what we do at Providence College. They've done that for me, we've done that for each other, so now we're doing it for you. You're of the family, so our gift to you is a trip to Nigeria."
Image Source: GoFundMe
James was overwhelmed by this gesture of generosity and love and so was the Dean of Students, Sean Sears. He said, "Tears to my eyes. Such an act of kindness. It was such a great reminder of the good our Friars are bringing into the world and a great reminder of how we can all do a small act of kindness every day that can make a difference." James also thanked each and every student from the bottom of his heart.
A man named Leah Quinn (@lkquinnco), who claimed to be a friend of Brandon's mom, shared the whole video of the surprise on TikTok. He sang praises of the college student and called him "the most incredibly kind, thoughtful and generous soul." He added: "This act of kindness shows us all, that we are more alike than not. Brandon’s ability to always do the right thing and lead, show compassion and gratitude has been a highlight of my life watching him grow up into the amazing young man he is."
Quinn also mentioned Brandon's mother, who raised him alone, for "shaping him to be everything he is" today. It read: "I want to give Jess Reichert all the respect in the world for raising this boy as a single mother and shaping him to be everything he is. For the countless sacrifices she has and continues to make and the obstacles she endures to make sure he has every opportunity to continue on his path that we all could learn from as parents. This is also your payoff Jessie, everything that boy is, is ALL because of you! I am so proud to be your friend! I love you both so much!"
Editor's note: This article was originally published on March 20, 2024. It has since been updated.
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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.