Last night, Britain plunged in to an hour of darkness. The lights of Big Ben were switched off, Windsor Castle's impressive facade faded into the night, and Buckingham Palace became a mere silhouette.

The brightness of central London was extinguished. Or was it?

Yesterday's action was all part of 'Earth Hour', a worldwide movement promoted by the WWF to raise environmental awareness. Ten million people took part in England last year, and at this time we are still waiting for last night's numbers. But we wonder where those millions were, how many people actually noticed the sudden darkness to surround them, and how many knew what it was for?

Worldwide movements such as Earth Hour are incredibly beneficial to charities and social action groups for raising awareness of their causes. Without them, their plights would be kept in near total darkness (no pun intended). But we wonder whether enough is being done to promote these movements. Newspapers certainly reported that 'Britons are being asked to turn their lights off', but Instagram, Facebook and Twitter have all been pretty clear of signs that the British actually did. We ask, therefore, why are the press so involved, but social media so quiet?

Social media has an incredible ability to make people do things. It doesn't just indiscriminately 'speak to' people, as the press does. It includes them, invites them to take part. Social media is personal. The recent 'no makeup selfie' has been remarkable in that respect, the first truly charitable social media revolution. Its strength lies in two facets: 1. People can actually get involved and 2. They are named and shamed if they do not. It is peer pressure at its best, blackmailing people to do good and raise £8 million + in the process. It becomes clear that people must have a personal reason to get involved. Even if it is as simple as not being publicly embarrassed for not taking a photo of themselves.

So when one looks to Earth Hour, or Water Day which quietly sailed past last week, one is left wondering when the world will realise that people only learn so much when they watch. It's when they do that things happen.