Social media is an effective tool for impactful change, and almost everyone has seen an Instagram post informing them of the latest tragedy. Social media activism can be useful but oftentimes is hollow and ineffectual. Sharing posts cannot be all that students do if they want to make a difference.
Social media activism is, at its best, inspires people to act and, at its worst, performative. When it is trendy to be politically active, people will act as an activist in order to curate an image or appearance. More often than not, people are just reposting something because they don’t want to be judged for not doing so. People constantly post on their stories something along the lines of “repost now or you support hate.” When activism comes at the threat of being “canceled,” it does no good. Due to the relative ease of social media activism, it has become abundantly popular and increasingly ineffective. But, it’s not actual activism, there’s no action, it just makes people feel like they’re activists and promoting change. It’s serving as an unearned sense of moral high ground and an ego booster. And this idea of using activism to feel like a better person is antithetical to activism. Activism isn’t some tool to feed a superiority complex.
We can’t expect everyone who reposts something to have actually done the research on what they’re reposting. It is startlingly easy to spread misinformation because an Instagram post or a Twitter thread looks convincing. Misinformation on Twitter became so rampant the company had to add a “community notes” feature to address misinformation on the app. Even if something isn’t purposefully misleading, certain nuances or points need to be watered down to fit in the confines of an online post. When issues are reduced to simple bullet points on a visually appealing post, you can do more damage than good. By not understanding the nuances of an issue, people won’t know what they’re actually supporting. It’s easy to sell something as a cause when you may unknowingly support oppressors. On apps like Twitter, where controversy creates engagement, posts that cause arguments will get the most traction. Those posts might contain false information, present an argument that isn’t actually reflective of the cause, or just be looking to create a problem. Twitter boosts tweets that garner outrage in the form of replies or retweets. Even negatively engaging with a post is engaging. If a cause wants attention, it will have to appeal to the machinations of a dangerous and hungry algorithm.
One of the most dangerous parts of social media activism is how fleeting it is. When a certain cause becomes trendy, it becomes the center of attention for a very limited amount of time and is then forgotten about. Change can’t be made through people sharing or retweeting for a week. After that week, no one will care again. Movements are not spontaneous and brief. They are well thought out and take a long time. By leaving a cause in the dust to run off chasing the newest movement, users leave causes in a drought after having drowned it in attention.
When social media activism goes beyond reposting, that’s when the real change happens. When you post an infographic, maybe you inform a few people. But when social media is used to interact with the community, that’s when change begins. Social media was key in organizing protests after George Floyd’s murder. Social media connects everyone and can lead to nationwide protests. Currently, Twitter is being used to organize strikes for the Writers Guild of America. Twitter can also be used to tweet at politicians and make the people’s voices heard.
Real change is possible, and it is great that so many people are interested in activism. Reposting something is a fine first step, but people have to do more to create a difference. They can’t allow themselves to only act in online spaces. Social media activism can’t be the end-all and be-all of activism.