The good use of social media

Nowadays, the majority of people are on social media and we all know about the dangers of being active online, such as the risk of being cheated once we have given our private information. We always focus on the negative aspects of having an “online life”, and we think of the good use of these networks only once on a blue moon. And that is a shame. As a matter of fact, the world has plenty of people that use social media to display a positive message and help others (for example through fundraising) and, in our opinion, it is so sad that their stories often remain unknown. These ‘‘social’’ activists usually talk online about what they do, showing pictures and explaining how we can all benefit  people in need. 

We can proudly say that Italy boasts one of the most followed activists. His name is Pietro Morello. Although he started his online activity only at the beginning of the pandemic from COVID-19, in February 2020, he now counts 1.5 million followers on TikTok. Pietro, who is just 22 years old, is from Turin and has two big passions: music and children. He plays several instruments, from the most common ones, such as the piano and the guitar, to the less known ones, which come from far-away  countries, such as the cajon and the handpan. His passion, dedication and good skills have  led him to fulfill his biggest dream: bringing music and happiness to children in war-torn areas. As a matter of fact, he is a volunteer for the Italian organization Una Mano Per Un Sorriso and takes part in humanitarian missions all over the world. Not long ago he came back home from Kenya, where he had stayed for two weeks, working in a school in one of the poorest areas of the country. 

During the missions, he organizes, with the help of other volunteers, music classes to teach children to play instruments or to sing some songs together, as if they were an orchestra. But he does not only volunteer abroad: he is also involved in some music therapy projects, so he works in the hospitals with terminally-ill children. So every week since March 2021, Pietro has been working  in the “Regina Margherita” hospital in Turin with the only purpose of giving ill children the time of their life and letting them fly away with their imagination while listening to music. As he eventually explained on Instagram, last year a piano was donated to the children’s hospital with the help of Piatino Pianoforti. In March he wrote a post about it: “PROMISES ARE PROMISES”. We moved heaven and earth but finally a piano was donated to the hospital. I thank the doctors and nurses, who are helping me create the music projects which are weekly done with the children. From now on, I will play music for the children of the pediatric wards. Bringing music to the hospital is necessary. Today everything begins, and it won’t stop.’’One of the things he is most protective of is his guitar, which has been signed by every child he has met so far. 

Pietro was also invited to talk at the TEDx event which took place in Barletta at the beginning of July 2021. He discussed his work with children in Italy and abroad, and he also mentioned his “online career” as a TikTok star. In the same period, he was able to get the prestigious role of ambassador of Turin, along with Alessandro Barbero, who is probably the most important contemporary Italian historian. Pietro was also invited as a guest in many YouTube videos or podcasts by some very well-known creators, such as Marco Montemagno (who has a YouTube channel that counts almost 1 million subscribers) and Don Alberto Ravagani (a priest with 150.000 subscribers on YouTube that interviews influencers and social media stars, discussing  important topics with them). 

In April he also opened his own YouTube channel where every Sunday he uploads a new video. His YouTube contents are a bit different form the ones on the other social media: as a matter of fact here he posts tutorials (he usually tries  to build musical instruments with anything he has at home) and videos about his travels. Pietro, after all, is a musician, so he has his own Spotify page, where he uploaded his song “Mezz’aria”, a track he had written with his piano.

In conclusion, as Pietro said once in an interview, this world has already been filled with evil, so it is time to roll up our sleeves and change it. Volunteering abroad is not for everyone, but there are still thousands of ways to bring happiness to other people, every one of us has just to understand which one is the best  for them and go for it!

Anna Donà, Susanna Ferracuti