Social Media Activism—Is It a Thumbs Up or Down?
Activism has shapeshifted its practice with the spread of information like wildfire on social media. We must consider, however, if social media is really a beneficial tool for activism or a place for people to validate themselves.
Words by Emma Mansour
I spend a lot of time on social media, much like most other Gen-Zers. While some of my social media is dedicated to being ‘social’ through connecting with friends, liking their pictures, etc., a larger part is focused on current events, movements, and social justice. In recent years, social media has become a powerful tool for change. Movements like #MeToo, #OscarsSoWhite, and Black Lives Matter have relied heavily on the use of a hashtag to spread awareness and demand accountability. And it’s worked pretty well. #MeToo gave a voice to survivors of sexual assault and speak out against their abusers; for a while, it felt like there was another powerful person in Hollywood being brought to justice every day. After #OscarsSoWhite trended, the academy attempted to diversify. Most recently, the BLM Movement has gained an enormous amount of traction because of the use of social media to spread petitions, resources, and information. Without Twitter or Instagram, I really don’t think a lot of this would have happened as quickly as it did. There’s always been violence forced upon Black folk, the rest of the country is just finally recognizing it because of social media awareness.
Looking at how much change has come from social media activism, it seems infallible. Social change at the tip of everyones’ fingers, can you think of anything better? But lately, I’ve noticed an increase in online activism from people I know personally through Instagram stories pertaining to BLM. Some people I knew pleasantly surprised me by posting about petitions or infographics, when I would never expect them to really speak up. I had never really seen this level of activism within my smaller Instagram community, which is great, but also begs the question of why all of the sudden all these people are speaking out.
I think when it comes to issues of social justice, like BLM or #MeToo, people tend to fall into one of two categories. There’s the group that genuinely cares about the issue and would take action, absent of social media, and there are those who are less invested and probably wouldn’t do anything if it weren’t for the moral accountability social media urges people to perform. I’m sure a lot of what I was seeing in my social sphere was the former of the two—people who really saw a problem and were doing what they could do to spread awareness. I’m sure those same people were signing petitions, donating, and trying to educate themselves. But I also know that there were probably a handful of people in the latter category, who were using their platform as a form of virtue signaling, a way to show the world that they aren’t bad people. That’s one of the downsides of social media activism: you can do so little to feel so good about yourself.
With these two groups in mind, whether or not their actions or posts on Instagram are coming from a truly genuine place doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. On a personal level, that’s really unfortunate for them and their character, but in terms of progressing a movement, it’s better than them doing nothing. Their Instagram story might change the mind of someone who wasn’t on board with BLM, and I think that net positive impact is one we can’t really ignore, even if the motivation to post it was selfish.
Social media activism isn’t perfect. Actually, it’s far from it. But it is such an easy way to educate others and create positive change, so I’m giving it a thumbs up. As it applies to the individual, I don’t think it’s that valuable in terms of making them a better person and I guess it is an easy way to ‘participate in activism’ if you even want to call it that. Even so, it forces people who would normally do nothing, to do something. The accountability forces them to be active to some extent. And when you take away that part that focuses on the individual, it seems to be a really great thing. It gives a voice to movements that otherwise may not have a voice, it amplifies marginalized voices, and it ultimately leads to change.
