How Impactful Are You On Social Media?

Initially, when I thought about social media, and its impact I would think about memes going viral and YouTube sensations selling books about who they are and why they are.

Top of my twitter feed happened to be from/about news sources

I’ve been using computers for about 20 of my 22 years of life, and I’ve been on social media since MySpace was the hot new kid on the block. Websites like MySpace and YouTube were the foundation of my experience of social media and it wasn’t until I found myself immersed in Twitter that I felt like I could communicate with so many different people, on various levels.

Twitter has sparked viral hashtags that have brought awareness to issues that may have otherwise been swept under the rug. Ranging from #BlackLivesMatter to #WomensMarch. It has even been home to hashtags that praise the beauty of people of color (#PraisinTheAsian #BlackGirlMagic and so many more!). There are hashtags for everything and everyone — something every intersectional feminist and humanitarian can get behind.

Twitter recently added a function called “Moments” that include a curated bunch of tweets that are related to the issue and contain many different points of view as well as unbiased information. Any user can create a moment.

The main aspect of social media, in general, is how one can curate their experience. This can have some major negative effects; but if we all navigate and use these platforms effectively, a lot of positive could come from anyone’s online experience.

With Moments on Twitter, users can string together many tweets to share information and multiple points of view on a topic of interest — pictured above, you see Moments about Donald Trump, Flint’s ongoing water crisis, and other stories of interest including an In-Memoriam moment of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. As users click through some Moments, they are seeing more tweets from people they are most likely not already following. Although, users may not want to look through a Moment about an issue they don’t agree with completely, they can still see various tweets from others that may have a different view or opinion on a matter they are interested in.

Social Media can make profound impacts, but it all depends on how one uses their platform that decides whether that impact will be positive or negative.

So, go on a Twitter rant. Provide links and images that will educate and spread your thoughts to a greater audience. Whatever your purpose is, make it a positive one and you will soon meet like-minded people and who knows…You could start the next biggest movement and it just might be what some people need.