Online Activism vs Real-World Consequences
Is this the 21st century way to get things done?
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Being online is great for the most part, it has its ups and downs, but it gives us a way to communicate when we lack in-person interaction with our peers. The Internet also gives us a chance to have our voices heard, providing a platform for opinions that may have flown under the radar. Underrepresented voices, marginalised voices, people you would have never heard from ten or twenty years ago in mainstream media now have (for the most part) a safe space where they can speak freely. All it takes is a mobile phone and WiFi. As a result of this instantaneous connection, the digital realm has been flooded with activist media, especially in the wake of #BLM and #MeToo. Online activism can be a great way to champion social justice, spurring along many worthwhile causes, but its effectiveness remains unclear. In a world full of online outrage, how do we make real change?
‘Slacktivists’ was a new term to me in 2020, and it may be a term new to you too. A slacktivist can be anyone who does something like post a black square on their Instagram feed in support of a movement, retweet something that's trending, or get involved in using a popular hashtag. Maybe they change their profile image for a month until a favoured topic is no longer trendy, maybe they repost something just to seem as if they’re on board. Whatever way you look at it, and however good someones intentions are, this performative action gets us nowhere. Slacktivists like the idea of standing for something and presenting themselves to the world as they wish they were. They create personas of how they want to be seen, versus what's true to them.
In a way I get it, anyone with a social media account (no matter how large your following) is expected to comment on current news in some shape or form. It’s a lot of pressure, with the continuous information overload and alarming rate at which news travels through our technology driven lives, we’re expected to react quickly, putting the facts to one side. It’s impossible to keep up. At a time where we’re encouraged to be outraged by everything, the distinction between a real activist who has accurate information and knowledge, and a slacktivist who’s just jumping on the bandwagon, is becoming harder and harder to identify. Social media strikes again, continuously blurring the lines between what's real and what's not.
I frequently question whether or not the internet can affect lasting change. We scrutinise society’s wrongdoings on our Instagram feeds, we get into heated back-and-forths with friends and relatives on Facebook, slanging matches on Twitter about causes we feel passionately aligned with are the norm, but rarely do we make the lasting change we need to see in real life.
With that being said, one way online activism is effective is that it broadcasts ideas we are not used to seeing on a regular basis. Unheard of opinions can scale in approval, but as always, there's a catch. These ideas risk getting hijacked by the mainstream quickly deviating from being about the very cause they were trying to resolve. We go round in circles, nothing changes, injustices remain the same.
“Activism is inherently a creative endeavour - it takes a radical imagination to be an activist, to envision a world that is not there. It takes imagination and thats not far from art.” Ava Duvernay
I’m going to talk about #BLM and #MeToo real quick, I couldn’t write an entire newsletter about online activism and not discuss two of the largest social movements seen in the 21st century. The awareness of these movements started online by promoting a sense of unification, through hashtags, posts, and even campaigns by brands and users alike, social media sharing went beyond the hashtag for these uprisings. Online activism enabled these movements to endure long after those who aren’t directly affected by either chose to brush them under the carpet. Social media played an instrumental role in mobilising these movements offline showing the power a hashtag can have, challenging (and even silencing) those who question the internet's ability to disrupt and influence change.
As good as the internet is at giving a voice to movements, it’ll never replace organising and education in our communities, protesting in physical spaces, and the face-to-face interaction and discussion that takes place when we’re truly present. Barack Obama is known to agree, suggesting that “woke” culture and social media activism is no substitute for trying to undo real life societal wrongs.
We should try, in any way we can, to transfer our purposeful fury to our everyday realities. There's no blueprint for this, no one right way to do things. Making the decision to speak up and do something, to do anything, is a step forward. I’ve no doubt the flurry of digital activism will persist, but converting our online activist tendencies and evaluating where we spend our outraged energy will help to mobilise activism offline. If we do this, we may be able to progress in a world that's overflowing with injustices. And that's what we need, right?
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Twitter to see more of what I’m up to, and I’ll see you same time same place next week!
Catch you soon,
J’Nae
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
- Any freelancer or person who’s self-employed needs to read this article by Elephant that discusses whether or not it ever makes sense to work for free.
WHAT I’VE BEEN WATCHING:
- I'm a Capricorn, so I'm overly organised by nature, I love systems and colour coordination and anything that's out of place really irks me. Maybe that's why I binge watched Get Organised with The Home Edit in two days. Can I get a season two?
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:
- Mahalia, ‘Jealous’ (feat. Rico Nasty), is an absolute tuneeeeeee.
WHAT’S CAUGHT MY EYE:
- For all my avid readers out there, the Listory app/website is a great way to keep all of the articles you want to read in one place.
ON MY BLOG:
- This week's blog post is all about How To Introduce Pattern Into Your Wardrobe. I used to stick to wearing head-to-toe black all the time, but no more! These days my wardrobe is looking way more bright and colourful and I'm loving it. Read my post if you're interested in finding out how you can easily incorporate pattern and style into your closet.
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