Each year, millions of tourists flock to Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, drawn by its grand palaces, elegant timber mansions, lush parks, scenic ferry rides, and intricate ceramic art. But among the bustling crowds and historic sites, visitors may notice an unusual local celebrity—the friendly face of Boji, a commuter street dog known to just about everyone who regularly travels through the city.
Image Source: Boji is a regular Istanbul commuter, using the city's public transport systems to get around, sometimes traveling up to 30 kilometers a day using subway trains, ferries, buses and Istanbuls historic trams. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Boji, once a stray, has become a dedicated commuter, exploring Istanbul via ferries, buses, metro trains, trams, and subway cars. His name, "Boji," is derived from the Turkish word for "bogie," the area between subway cars he loves to ride. This Anatolian shepherd mix, with his golden-brown coat, soulful dark eyes, and floppy ears, has won hearts across social media, achieving near-celebrity status as the city’s most beloved passenger.
Image Source: Boji has learnt how and where to get on and off the trains and ferries. As people began to notice him as a regular on their daily travel routes and since the tracking app began, Boji's travels have made him an internet sensation. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
In 2021, municipal officials were amazed to learn about this dog’s travels. They arranged for his vaccination and fitted a microchip on his body to track his movements. The trackers reported that Boji traveled an estimated 30 kilometers a day, passing through dozens of metro stations and taking at least two ferry rides. “He knows where to go. He knows where to get out,” said Aylin Erol, the head of customer relations at Metro Istanbul, per CNN.
Image Source: Most days, Boji will pass through at least 29 metro stations and take at least two ferry rides. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Later that year, Chris McGrath, a Getty Images photographer, spent a day with Boji and documented his adventures in a series of photographs. In his interview with CNN, McGrath described the canine as a " free spirit. All he wants to do is ride on transportation. Every time he goes past a bus or van, or any form of transport, he just wants to get on it. It’s quite bizarre.”
Image Source: Since noticing the dogs movements the Istanbul Municipality officials began tracking his commutes via a microchip and a phone app. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
McGrath recalled that Boji is well aware of what he needs to do and where he needs to go while traveling on trains or ferries. He also said that Boji likes the vibrations of the vehicles’ engines, so he usually sits where the wheels are underneath. The pup doesn’t like cats, though.
Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Although nowadays, Boji has a Wikipedia page dedicated to his information, McGrath first learned about him via Twitter, “Everybody knows him now. Everybody sees him,” he said. McGrath described that municipal officials also took Boji for grooming and behavioral therapy sessions, gave him some TLC, and created a kennel at one of the metro stations.
Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images
McGrath also said that the municipality will soon be putting posters of Boji on the transit system, guiding people on how to interact with him. “He doesn’t listen to anybody. Like if you do try to tell him something, he just ignores you. Lots of people say, ‘Come over here, sit here,’ and he just ignores it. He goes where he wants to go. He’s that sort of spirit. He just wants to go and do his own thing, and travel around, and he’s quite content doing it.”
Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images
In 2022, according to the Daily Sabah, Boji was adopted by Mehmet Ömer Koç, a billionaire, Turkish businessman, art collector, and chairman of Koç Holding. At this time, the commuter dog was spending his days at a shelter operated by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) to stay warm in the cold weather. That’s when the city’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu announced his new home on Twitter and thanked Koç, "Boji, Istanbul's world-famous dog, now has a home where he can roam, run freely. He will be away from people who wanted to hurt him," he tweeted.
According to Hurriyet News, in 2022, Istanbul’s celebrity pooch also inspired a cryptocurrency project aimed at helping stray animals. A portion of the transaction fees obtained from the cryptocurrency released under the name “Boji Token” is donated to shelters as dog food.
Wanderlust can take one to places, and in the case of Boji, he is already on his way to traverse the globe. According to his Wikipedia page, Boji was last spotted in London with his owner on a London bus. Well, he is the dog who likes to wander and wouldn’t stop!
This article originally appeared 6 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.