The Cents-Sense Scent Test

I love all of the kind and caring people who will step up to the plate for any good cause. In their virtual lives on social media sites they are no different. They are quick to act on any heart-tugging cause that begs them to quickly share a post as a way to raise funds for a victim. Unfortunately, they rarely apply The Cents-Sense Scent Test - better known as the 'wait a minute - does something smell fishy here' hesitation.

Who can resist wanting to help a baby, child, puppy or other defenseless being that is in great distress? Plus it won't cost any personal outlay of cash, some large benevolent organization will handle all of that. Facebook seems to be really generous, they're often shown as donating some cash amount for each time a post is shared. But wait a minute - let's apply the smell test. What is the connection between Facebook and the victim? Of all the many well-known charities Facebook may partner with, why are they singling this particular cause out? What does Facebook get in return for all the increased sharing activity? Pondering a few questions like these just might reveal a really bad smell.

The one that caught my attention last week was the picture of a badly injured dog and the information that the humane society would donate $1 for everytime it was shared on Facebook. It was easy to see how one of my friends was moved enough to want to help. But wait a minute - let's apply the smell test. Surely there are many injured dogs the humane society encounters routinely, what makes this case special? How is the humane society going to know how many times this post has been shared? Doesn't it raise some questions about why the humane society would delay treating this animal while it waits to see how much money has been collected? Which humane society is it anyway? 

A quick Google search of the caption: "This puppy was abused. For every 'share', the humane society will donate $1 towards his surgery" revealed the truth. There is a dog that was injured by someone throwing acid on him at a park in Taiwan 2 years ago. He has recovered and is now living with his new foster family. Though the facts still raise compassion for the animal, they also diminish the need to do something for him. In this particular case, it would be more prudent and rewarding to make a personal cash contribution to a local animal shelter or other established charity.

When you come across a post about some beleagured being that will benefit from your 'share' - before you do it - apply the Cents-Sense Scent Test. Does it actually raise cents and make sense or does it just smell?

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