By Rachel Morrow
Former President Barack Obama was the first presidential candidate to use social media as leverage to influence the younger generation of voters. His effective use of campaigning through social media placed him ahead of the other candidates and swayed American voters. In the past 10 years, the presidential race has largely become a contest of who has the most effective use of social media as a campaign strategy. Throughout his campaign and during his presidency, Donald Trump has tweeted an average of 10 times per day. We live in a generation where social media has become so powerful that his tweets have the power to shape international relations, send stock prices up or down, and galvanize the American people.
Social media raises public awareness surrounding current events and provides a platform for people to engage in causes that are important to them. Studies have shown that there appears to be a correlation between the usage of social media and engagement in social activism. Through checking our phones so often, we are more informed and more passionate about issues in our society.
Some people consider activism through social media as the bare minimum form of advocacy, or in other words “slacktivism.” They argue that by simply retweeting, it’s an easy way to call yourself an activist without really putting in an effort to make an impact. However, political activism through social media, known as participatory politics, is an addition to an individual’s engagement, not an alternative to other forms of activism. For some, it’s “gateway” activism, because posting an article or retweeting a hashtag is the first step to becoming a more involved activist. It’s a way to spread awareness and mobilize other activists.
#BlackLivesMatter is an example of a hashtag that has become attached to a political movement. The Black Lives Matter movement is an international activist movement that campaigns against the violence and systemic racism towards black people. The movement, in many ways, has grown around the hashtag that has been shared over 40 million times on Facebook, Twitter and many more platforms. Thousands of Black Lives Matter protests were organized through social media. The internet provided these passionate activists with a space to find other activists, who then mobilized and organized various protests, which gained attention through social media.
#SayHerName is another movement that has gained a large amount of support through social media. It centers around black cis and non-binary women victims of police violence. The movement specifically strives to bring attention to the invisibilization of black women in the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
In a study conducted by Science Daily, it was shown that among young people who engage in participatory politics, 90% of them were involved in other forms of activism as well. Accessibility to the internet and social media has been rising rapidly over the past 20 years – and so has the political engagement of youth. The majority of teens rely on Twitter or Facebook feeds as their primary news source, compared to past generations who relied on television news, magazines and newspapers. Owning smartphones, an easily accessible source of news available in our pockets, keeps us constantly up to date on the latest news and political movements. Teens are more passionate than ever about making social change.
A recent movement that has been driven by social media is the new hashtag, #MeToo. Started in October 2017 after several sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein, actress Alyssa Milano encouraged survivors of sexual assault and harassment to post #MeToo to raise awareness. Within 24 hours of the announcement, there were over 12 million posts, comments and reactions on Facebook using the hashtag. Since then, millions of more people from 85 countries have come forward on Facebook or Twitter. The French used #balancetonporc, the Spanish used #YoTambien, and in Arab countries, وأنا_كمان# and وانا_ايضا# were used. Personal stories have been shared from people of all ages and genders across the world, giving people a sense of the magnitude of the problem. The movement has been very effective in highlighting the commonality of sexual assault and destigmatizing it. What started as a hashtag has now become a rallying cry against sexual harassment.
So far, the power of social media has only been growing and strengthening. The widespread political awareness and social change coming from youth and social media has changed the future of activism.