Editorial: Power of social media illustrated

Bailey Langley was re-united with his mother after strangers banned together to find him. Photo/Glenn Taylor

Today's page three story about the successful search for a missing young boy is an amazing example of the power of social media.

Ten-year-old Bailey Langley left his Akina home "in a grump" on Thursday evening.

In her hunt to locate him, his mother, Renee O'Keefe, posted a plea on a local Facebook group.

Incredibly, hundreds of empathising Facebook users not only offered their written support to her, but it resulted in 10 cars patrolling Hastings' central business district, fast-food outlets, popular parks and nearby streets.

"I'm so happy I did it - without them I would not have found my son that night," his mother said.

"I had people apologising if they couldn't go out and look - they started suggesting places he might be."

He was found by a member of a search party about 1am after dozens, if not hundreds, of people had shared the post to spread the word.

The internet has facilitated remarkable change to our world and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are at the forefront of leaps in global connectivity.

This is actually a wonderful tale of not only the power of social media, so often a scapegoat of accusations levelled at an instant-gratification generation, but also a shining example of the power of old-fashioned community spirit in a modern world.

The local community's ability to log on to Facebook, communicate the problem and organise to assist, is a modern phenomenon.

Its empathy, on the other hand, is not.