Opinion: Social media activism across platforms has been getting better in some areas, like condensing important information on issues and providing context
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Backlash against social media activism in 2020 pointed out how people contributed to movements in naive or misguided ways.
The notorious black square for the Black Lives Matter movement still stands as a marker of performative and shallow online activism. TikTok and X, previously known as Twitter, aided in recording protests, posting fundraisers and balancing out the infographics.
But these platforms fell short in gaining people’s interest, trust or love of social media activism.
During 2020, I observed the negative reactions toward mindless reposting and users who seemed to have good, but uninformed, intentions. Seeing performative posts during the pandemic gave me little faith in online activism.
Since 2020, I have seen fewer infographics during times of crisis or political events and more posts with background information or links for self-initiating ways to help.
Social media activism is not perfect, but I believe people are learning to direct it toward public education and small-scale change efficiently.
Looking at my Instagram and X feeds, I noted which posts mentioned social or political current events and what specifically the posts included. Some mentioned the teacher strike in Portland and provided breaking information about the fight for a settlement. One discussed a new oil project in Louisiana, explaining why it is harmful and the ways individuals can try to stop it.
Most of the activism-focused posts discussed the Israel-Palestine conflict. Some posts pointed out ethics within the situation and denounced the murder of Palestinian children. Others brought to light the fears and experiences of reporters while working in Gaza. Many posts on X criticized people who remained, or became, silent as the issue has continued, encouraging vocality against injustice.
Posts that focus on describing issues and opinions can be helpful in bringing attention to the issue, but fall short in organizing people or enacting tangible solutions.
The more productive, or action-focused, posts I saw included links to defense funds for students arrested while protesting in support of Palestine, statement translations and messages to use while calling local representatives to encourage a ceasefire.
Everyone’s feeds look different, but from mine, the majority of activist posts stated opinions, experiences, ethics and calls to action with a minority of posts providing ways to take action.
According to the Pew Research Center, close to half of people online use media platforms for activism. As of May 2023, close to half of users report engaging in some activity on behalf of a group or cause. With so many people contributing to online discussions and movements, the amount of content can overwhelm people with unreliable information and upsetting images and videos.
The wealth of information on media platforms, despite overwhelming users at times, offers disenfranchised communities better access to resources online and the ability to participate in movements.
Taking activism online is not often the main ingredient in movement organizing but when done right, a lot of people can become informed or empowered.
Alicia Garza, one of BLM’s founders, used social media to gather attention to instances of police brutality and racism around 2014. In her book “The Purpose of Power,” Garza noted that social media activism alone is unhelpful, but if she uses it to get “them [people online] to do something amazing together offline,” online activism can truly mobilize a movement.