Why We (Must) Rant
I feel this conversation really needs to be had so here we go:
Everytime when someone points out and speaks about a problem or just something that's bothering them online and you tell them that their rants don't have an impact or don't solve the problem you are being extremely shortsighted.
First, let's explain one thing: no one goes up to speak out in Facebook and thinks "yes, I've solved my problems". That is silly. If it were that easy I'd be glad but it almost never is.
So why do they? Because expression of your sorrows and anger lightens you. Bottling up these emotions suck. It's painful and torturous where you constantly think about how said incident made you feel and you dont see a solution in sight and the cycle of dark thoughts goes on and on.
So why not to a close circle of friends and why public? Er first of all, realize that things posted online unless done with the privacy set to public aren't public- just private to a larger audience. It's easier to do that and make sure that all friends you want to tell this to know at the same time instead of you knocking them one by one. It's basic principles of why we post a status at all. You could tell your friends who are GoT fans personally how that episode was the best ever but why do you post a status? Because you want reach without spending too much time.
So what is the problem with you, being all experts in the field of online discourse and social change pointing fingers and crying "omg so pointless"?
You make their feelings and emotions seem invalid, that's what. You make them feel like horrible people for daring to speak out their thoughts. And especially in case of introverts or people suffering from conditions like depression and anxiety, you take away their ability to express because the next time they think about it, they think of how the last time it hurt, and are too scared to. I say especially because you don't need to have those conditions to qualify to feel that pain. But what this means is that in your pursuit to create the utopian Facebook feed around you that speaks of no evil and has only beautiful puppies and kittens (which btw you could do easily with clever use of the unfollow button), you force some very vulnerable people to bottle up their emotions, from where it can get worse and worse and develop into something absolutely crippling. Not nice.
So I hope you realize now that even if their speech does not cause a social revolution per se (and I doubt you can give me another method that does in a similar time frame it takes to write one of these posts), it's not pointless. To ease pain is enough of a point. Don't get on the way of that. It's a dick move.
But that is if you assume that it doesn't lead to social change? I think you're wrong in that count too.
Try and understand: change almost always is incremental. It happens in small steps. So let's realize if you judge the impacts of that post through "did it solve a problem" you're pushing a false comparitive- no step can do that, and you therefore need to judge it on "if it had one small positive effect that helps make it easier to cause change". Then you can do more small things and gradually improve.
Change is also not a linear process. There isn't just one way to do it, you can in fact push in different methods. For example, if you want rights for some minorities in a country, you can simultaneously lobby for it within government institutions and make them listen to you little by little, but at the same time it helps with all the activists and their rallies because it either tells that govt that a lot of people want it so it's wise to listen to the lobbyists here (or if the authority in question is reluctant, at least it can tell them that there are costs to giving a blatant no. So even in this case you get something out of the exchange).
Why is this important? Because all of that side by side is necessary. You do need the outrage to build urgency to get others act. You do need to build a precedence of a safe space where people can feel safe to discuss these ideas.
But more importantly, not everyone is suited to all forms of effort. It's stupid to expect an introvert with social anxiety to take a direct approach to confront someone face to face. Someone else can do that. But the effort that person spends on social media has value too, and just because he/she couldn't do other more seemingly direct things doesn't mean their effort at the part they're good at is invalid. At the same time the people who are better at the more direct approach may not be as good in educating others about the problem in social media.
But here's why the social media presence does wonders.
Firstly it educates: a huge chunk of people doesn't have the knowledge of the events that the post speaks of. This is evidenced by the surprise that a lot of them express at the news. A lot of these people could have creative solutions or could know people who can help in one way or another. It's important that they know.
Second, urgency. This comes in two parts. The first part is where most people because they're bombarded with so much shit in their day to day lives. So even if they know, often these issues are stuck to the backs of their heads. The posts can draw attention to these problems. And would maybe lead to someone taking another step and again the incremental change continues. The second part of the urgency is that if we are talking about a certain party's wrongdoing, you can shed light into that wrongdoing and make them feel pressurized to act and make an effort to fix, even if a little. Maybe just for the sake of showing off to people that they indeed care and want to solve the problem. Maybe they actually dont have any intention of actually solving it. But you at the very least create an environment that encourages this steps to be taken as opposed to be the one of inertia that they have.
Why are these two things so important? Because when you try to ask the people ranting on social media "why can't you be like startup A and initiative B who actually does real work", you forget that a lot of these guys know about these issues because of the outrage being raised over these issues probably gave them the urgency to act or probably educated then on the problem that needs solving. Maybe these guys themselves will work with initiatives like these in the longer run. And even if they do now, you have no right to shame them for spreading the word because they still help. You have no right to delegitimize their rants because they don't "do actual work", because they're still doing something. I'll have to ask at this point: tf did you do that gives you the right to throw shade on people who obviously care about the issue.
But the final good that the posts do is that it created a safe space.
Try and understand that for millions of sufferers, the only reason they get the courage to write, to talk, to express is the myriad of other posts that do the same. This tells them that if they speak out and express (either to highlight a problem, create urgency or even to just feel lighter by getting a weight off their chests), they will have allies and support. They won't have to face a "Prothom-Alo comments section" reaction. They will find solidarity and understanding. This creates a space online where everyone feels empowered to express themselves.
Try and understand why your ridicule of "this is pointless/doesn't solve the problem/why don't you work for it instead/why don't you join startup xyz instead" does here. It shatters that safe space. It tells people who may not be able to follow your steps due to unavoidable circumstances that they have no right to open their mouths because of circumstances they can't even control. It makes them feel like shit, retract into their own small communities and slowly let the problem go unnoticed and thus the apathy sets in where everyone is too concerned to look for their own benefit and no one does jackshit. Not the best world to live in.
So I think at this point we can write off social media rants as a net positive.
In conclusion: this toxic culture of jumping on individuals for speaking out about problems that are unpleasant to hear but true hurts literally everybody except the very people that benefit from these unpleasant problems in the first place. Please, for goodness's sake, the next time you feel the necessity to hate on people for ranting, remember this post.
At the very least, if you feel like life is nicer without these rants, if you feel even after all this analysis that its pointless to express on social media, please, for goodness's sake, I beg you, just press the unfollow button and get on with your lives. At least that way, we don't have to deal with your shit just as you don't have to deal with ours. At least you won't discourage people from the expression that can help them lead a healthier life.