In the last 10 years the use of social media has been growing rapidly, Americans use different social media sites as a way of getting news and information. Also, these platforms have been used as a way to prevent social injustice with the ability to reach millions of people from different parts of the world online. Once in order to reach millions of people you were required to go door to door knocking, create flyers, street canvassing and today this can all be achieved by simply sharing or tweeting. In today’s society social media has been used in a significant way to promote awareness and to shape public policy. Considering how popular social media is today it can be used as a positive tool for social justice.
The Evolution of Activism
Activism started in the 1800s during the abolition movement and since then it has evolved, and it has brought political and social change. Even though this started in the streets it escalated to the television and now has arrived in people’s homes and workplaces through the internet and social media. Protests against immigration policies, terrorist groups and education cuts increased the use of virtual activism during the decades of 2000s. One example is The Occupy Wall Street movement expanded through social media sites and then on September 17 , 2011 a group of mostly young adults decided to take actions against economic inequality worldwide (Moore, 2012). Technology is a way of connecting people who want change and they use the platform to raise awareness and call attention. Political Engagement on Social Media: Different surveys were conducted by the Pew Research Center in which 4,594 Americans participated. The survey’s purpose was to show the public attitudes of Americans toward political engagement on social media (Anderson, Toor, Rainie & Smith, 2018 ).
According to the first survey more than half of American adults have used social media to share interest in an issue, to encouraged others to take interest and to look for information on certain movements and protests. The second research showed that Hispanics and blacks are the ones who value social media sites the most, it gives them a voice to express their opinions and to get engaged with issues that matter to them. Four-in -ten social users stated that the social media sites help them when it comes to finding others with the same views, gets them involved in issues that matter to them and also offers them a platform to express their political opinions. The third survey asked the broader importance of social media for activism to all the respondents, even to the ones who do not use social media sites.
A majority of Americans said that social media is important to get the politicians to pay attentions into certain issues and in creating long-lasting social movements. The last survey represented about two-thirds of Americans who believe social media is a tool that gives voice to underrepresented groups, “social media make it easier to hold powerful people accountable for their actions”. Based on this data, many Americans see social media as a powerful tool when it comes to personal political engagement and they use it in different ways to promote political or social change. #MeToo Movement: The #MeToo hashtag was used by victims of sexual assault and harassment on the social media platform, Twitter. The hashtag was first introduced by the actress Alyssa Milano when she posted a screenshot that stated “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote “Me too” as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem”(Codrea-Rado,2017).Thousands of people replied to the tweet, some just wrote “me too” and others explained their experiences.
As a result of the #MeToo movement hundreds of actresses , writers and directors launched the project “Time’s up” and they raised $21 million dollars in just one month to fund legal assistance to anyone who has suffered abuse or assault at the workplace (Seales,2018).Abuse survivors have cited that the movement made them feel less alone , it has encouraged them to seek support , they have address their past trauma by talking to their families , specialists and people who have gone through the same experience.
Also in the wake of the #MeToo employers are looking for ways to create a better workplace . Seales discusses how Ted Bunch who is a cofounder of a social activism group that promotes respectful ways of “being a man stated”, “Most notably, we have seen an increase in corporations seeking to understand why sexual harassment in the workplace is so pervasive”. Over the past year, men have fallen, corporations have changed contracts and some states have expanded their laws. (Greenberg, 2018). The #MeToo movement has helped women feel more empowered and has provided a platform for the victims of sexual assault to share their experiences and look for a change. #NeverAgain movement: The school shooting in Parkland, Florida, resulted in the death of 17 people and the survivors created the #NeverAgain movement which became viral in social media just in a matter of days. Through social media the young activists came up with the hashtag that has been used by celebrities all around the world (Campo-Flores, Hong, 2018).
The millennials have used social media as a way to communicate their experience and express their emotions. They were able to raise $2.2 million in an online fundraiser for a protest for gun control. “One of their greatest sources of power is their facility with social media”, said Elizabeth Matto, a professor at Rutgers University who studies how young people participate in politics. “These students in Florida are not just using social media to raise awareness, but they’re actually trying to influence the make-up of the government” (Campo-Flores, Hong, 2018). The young voters are using their knowledge of digital tools to make political changes and the persistence dominated the social media sites. The #NeverAgain resulted in a series of school walkouts, The March Four Our Lives rally and is slowly awakening legislative conversations about gun control measures. Florida governor Rick Scott signed a bill raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21 and the US House of Representatives also passed a bill to promote more security in school (Willingham, n.d.).
The Stoneman Douglas’ students have used social media as a digital tool to spread awareness and to prevent any more shootings due to lack of gun control laws. Twitter, for example, has given them the chance of telling their testimonies to millions of people around the world and they have gotten support from many, economically and emotionally. The Case of #BlackLivesMatter: The rise of hashtag activism has been one of the most significant developments of virtual activism, it consists of the large numbers of postings under a common hashtagged word. The hashtag makes it easier for users to search, link and interact with one another via the hashtagged word and to share stories related to it. #BlackLivesMatter is an example of a protest movement that happened in the streets and in social media, it initially started on Facebook after George Zimmerman shot African American teen Trayvon Martin to death (Yang,2016). The movement spread on social media and it became an online organization to fight against racism and violence.
Since 2013 these organization has had a significant change locally and nationally by driving out high-profile corrupt prosecutors from their positions (Roberts, 2018). Also, it has pressured Democrats to restructure their national platform to include issues such as criminal justice reform and it contributed to the election of an African American activist to office. The hashtag according to a newly released Pew study has been used nearly 30 million times on twitter, 17,003 times per day (Simon, 2018). Five years after the Black Lives Matter hashtag was created and it has become an influential movement and a key aspect of today’s conversation about race and discrimination. Technology has helped people of color make their case and call for a change when they have been silenced. The critics against digital activism Slacktivism is when people support a cause but they are not truly engaged or making a change, many people refer to digital activism as a form of slacktivism, (Cale, 2017).
People believe that slacktivism is too easy to be effective since is just sharing a video or using a hashtag but that’s not all about it, it takes more for a statement to create awareness and go viral. The difficult part of online activism is being consistent, activists need a brand strategy and strategic collaborations to call the attention of others on issues. Even if they don’t see any results they stay dedicated to the cause and try to attract as many people to their cause as possible. There are some cases in which activism online is simple but so are plenty of non-digital forms, there is no difference in signing a petition online or one in the street, we are still looking for a change and to end social injustice.
Some critics of digital activism also referred to as “slackactivism” argue that online activists’ support is not backed by real life actions. Phillip Howard of the University of Washington refutes this statement by saying that any support is just as important. “The clicks are like a gateway to other political acts,” says Howard, “Just because these smalls acts of liking something don’t always translate into massive protests doesn’t mean they’re empty of political meaning” (Anschuetz, 2015). Howard’s statement is supported by the Cone communications study in which is stated that 64% of Americans who “like” organizations or causes on social media are more likely to get involved by donating money or volunteering. Often critics cite failed social media’s campaigns such as #BringBackOurGirls or #Kony2012, these two movement gathered attention nationwide but failed to create an actual change.
In the other hand there have been campaigns that have produced incredible results such as the #ALSIceBucketChallenge which raised over a $100 million dollars for ALS research. Howard discusses his believe that nothing is going to be able to replace in-person protests, but digital activism is an effective way of getting people involved in many issues. (Anschuetz, 2015). How can digital activism improve? Social media empowers citizens by giving them a voice; however, this means nothing unless there is action in the offline world. In addition to creating a movement by a hashtagged word, activists should also create organizations to fight for a change. As seen in the example given above, by being an activist in the offline and online world you have a greatest chance at getting support from different races, ethnicities and genders. Social movements can effectively become viral and capture the attention and support of a large audience but in order for it to last for a long period of time a deeper engagement with the cause is needed.
Social media has become a powerful tool used by many Americans, they share videos, hashtags and personal experiences to defend their rights. These platforms are used by protesters and activists to engage in many issues such as harassment , police brutality and gun control. Via social media, oppressed groups get to voice their opinion on certain issues and they do not have to rely on the media to incorrectly portray their concerns. The #MeToo, #NeverAgain and #BlackLivesMatter movements are successful examples of digital activism in which the protesters fought for social justice and they have been able to see some significant results such as criminal justice reform, more security in schools and less harassment in the workplace.
