Can Social Media Actually Inspire Change?

The answer to this question usually depends on who you ask. Social media platforms feel like they’ve been around forever because of how often people consume it that it’s hard to remember that it’s mostly been prevalent for the last decade. News can spread fast through these platforms- which is great news for people looking to change the world.

Since April is Earth Month, feeds have been filled with hashtags relating to Earth Day, climate change, science, and all the marches and movements that go along with them. I believe this a fantastic thing for events such as the Climate March or March for Science, since people who may not have known about it will now get a chance to learn about and participate at the events. And even if those people can’t go, they’ll share it with everyone they know on social media.

There’s an assumption that people on social media just click a button and don’t do much else to help a cause. I agree- people are just clicking buttons. But that has power now. It can lead to more donations, more participation, and more awareness of causes in general.

I don’t follow many accounts that are focused on just environmental issues, and I’m sure most users don’t exactly jump for those accounts to follow first over celebrities and friends. But that’s okay, because retweets and shares from big influencers, as well as getting hashtags trending, can flip around that disadvantage. #PenguinDay was trending on Tuesday on Twitter, and many users jumped at the chance to mention the upcoming climate march in tweets with that hashtag. Understanding how each platform works is key to getting messages out to the users.

So, will social media inspire people to change? Maybe not. But social media enables messages to spread out to bigger and bigger groups of people. Someone out there will see a movement, and want to join in. Social media increases the chance for change.