The tragedy of the events that took place in Paris on Friday, Nov. 13 are reminiscent of the terrorist attacks that happened over 14 years ago in the United States. No one saw it coming, and allies of the U.S. responded immediately with their support. That fateful day forever went down in history as “9/11” and the world will never forget.

In this world of social media, news spreads in such a different matter than it did 2001. The way people found out about the attacks to the World Trade Center, Pentagon and the attempted aim at the White House was through the news broadcasts on TV and radio. All channels covered the various locations that were affected by the tragedies and all anyone knew was that many Americans were killed that day and it was at the hands of terrorists.

Now in 2015, Twitter is one of the biggest resources that people have access to that allows them to find out how a war is playing out in the opposing country. Especially since all that’s being covered in popular media is how Paris is standing strong and fighting back as well as propaganda for what side citizens of the United States should be on.

Trending on social media is #prayforSyria, the country on the other end of France’s retaliation that occurred just two days after the Paris bombing. However, the posts aren’t necessary pro-Syria or against France, it’s about the innocent lives that have been lost due to the bombs striking down on the city of Raqqa.

Most of the tweets, featuring that hashtag, have been attached to images of bodies of children who were killed or children crying for their loss of their parents.

Not every person in Raqaa is evil and deserves this sort of punishment, just how not everyone in Paris, or even Beirut, Lebanon (a city that was attacked by bombers the day before Paris) deserved to die either.

There are terrorists and down-right bad people throughout the world. Extremists are the ones who get televised the most, but it’s only when they target a major city. Places that aren’t seen as a tourist destination are known as a third-world country and aren’t brought to light in major news, but social media has been all over it lately.

Even President Obama stood up primarily for France saying that there was an “attack on the civilized world.” Does this mean that places such as Beirut and Raqqa are not civilized or seen as human beings?

On Twitter, presidential candidate Donald Trump has taken to speaking out against people seeking a safe haven from the war they did not ask to be a part of.

“Refugees from Syria are now pouring into our great country. Who knows who they are – some could be ISIS. Is our president insane?” tweeted Trump to his 4.91 million followers.

Perhaps this sort of behavior is common in the Middle East so it comes to no one’s surprise when war breaks out, but what the world needs to know is the reality of what these citizens go through on a daily basis.

Although it’s understandable why France would want to fight back, an eye for an eye isn’t always the best solution. In avenging the deaths of innocent people, more innocent people die as well.

ISIS and other extremists do not care about the lives of people who are affected by their attacks, especially since they are fully willing to explode themselves within the masses. They only care that the death toll causes further turmoil and a future war for them to continue to fight in.

The lack of news showing the innocent lives lost in battle from the side of the “enemy” is something that has been going on for many years. Fortunately, social media has allowed the world to become more aware of the effects of war instantly.

Yes, hundreds of innocent lives have been lost in Paris, Beirut, the United States and many other countries affected by ISIS, but how many more people need to die just because they’re in the wrong environment?

Perhaps news from social media is the type of cry for help this generation needs to hear in order to fuel the fire that yearns for world peace. If people see the unnecessary casualties from both sides of a war, it may help with bringing the world closer together. Social media already does that for the most part, so now bigger differences can be made.

Let’s bring these realities to light by praying for the world instead of just what the our side of the news tell us.