Social media has become a huge part of today’s society. Nearly everyone is apart of one form of social media, whether it is facebook, twitter, instagram, tumblr, or many of the other social media websites, almost everyone is connected to at least one of them. Before all the different technologies and use the social media, activism use to be done entirely in person. Standing up for something that you believed in took more than sitting behind a screen in the comfort of your own home. Now people can do just that. But does that make the activism that much weaker? Some people believe that traditional activism, which involves a person to physically be at a site to protest for what they believe in, is much stronger than social media activism. I believe that it all depends on what the issue is that you believe in, or what you’re fighting against.
Malcolm Gladwell, author of “Small Changes”, writes about the differences between traditional activism and social media activism. He believes that traditional activism is a lot stronger, while social media activism has “weak ties”. Social media activism can make it a lot easier for people to get to together and share their ideas with one another. Meanwhile, traditional activism can be slightly more difficult mainly because you need to be there in person, to protest for what you believe in, while social media activism allows you to be anywhere in the world and still be able to share your ideas. Gladwell considers traditional activism to be a “strong-tie phenomenon” and considers it “high-risk activism”. He states, “Activism that challenges the status quo- that attacks deeply rooted problems- is not for the faint of heart.” He believes that not everyone is capable of participating in traditional activism. That some people aren’t strong enough or aren’t willing to stand up for what they believe in by being there in person. But he thinks that anyone is capable of using social media activism.
In Urvashi Vaid’s, “Action Makes It Better”, she talks about the effects of social media activism. She says “The only reason big changes happen, is when people like you and me decide to fight for things to change, when we take action to make things different.” Anyone is able to make a change, as long as they are willing to put in the time and effort to do so. I don’t think that it matters how you make a change, as long as you are passionate about it. Whether that means that you are participating in traditional activism, or social media activism, if you are willing to do what it takes to help make a change, then I think that is what really matters. Social media activism shouldn’t really be considered weaker, just because the people who are fighting for what they believe in, aren’t there in the flesh. In a way, I think that social media activism can actually be stronger. Even though you may not know exactly who the other people are behind the screen, you all share something in common. You all want to help make a difference. Even the tiniest contribution may make a world’s difference to someone else.
his husband Terry (left), founders of the “It Gets Better” campaign
Dan Savage is a cofounder of the It Gets Better project, a project run through social media activism to prevent suicide among young people in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Savage and his husband Terry, decided to post a video of themselves on the internet answering questions such as how they met, what their experiences were like, and if they were happy to be alive, were not expecting, was the overwhelming reaction they received.“One hundred videos. That was the goal, and it seemed ambitious: one hundred videos-best case scenario: two hundred videos…” Within the week of them posting the video, they hit one thousand video responses. Savage put his views and ideas out there for other people to see. He is fighting for what he believes in, and even though it may not be traditional activism, it’s getting his point across to thousands of people all over the world. His videos, through social media activism, are making more people aware of the difficulties the LGBT community faces everyday. With traditional activism, the amount of people is limited in that way. Not everyone may be able to get to a protest in order to stand up for what they believe in. But with scenarios like this, it doesn’t matter who you are, or where you are in the world, you can get involved. Although, Savage does say, “I do want to acknowledge what the It Gets Better Project can’t do though. It can’t do the impossible. It won’t solve the problem of anti-gay bullying, everywhere, all at once, forever, overnight. The point of the project is to give despairing LGBT kids hope. The point is to let them know that things do get better…” Savage knows that what he is doing isn’t going to fix the problem that is going on in the world, but it will have an impact on people’s lives. It may not solve the problem of anti-gay bullying, but it will give people hope that in the end, everything will get better.
Through the It Gets Better campaign, different people from all over the world worked up the courage to post their stories on the internet, discussing what they had to go through, what they are still going through, and the all the struggles they have had to endure in their lives. I believe that makes them just as brave as someone who participated in traditional activism. I don’t necessarily think that just because this was done over social media, that it makes it any weaker than if there was a big gathering somewhere. I think that in this case, social media activism is extremely effective. Savage knows that what he is doing isn’t going to fix the problem right now, but that he is able to help get the word across t0 the world, which traditional activism may not have been able to accomplish.
I think the It Gets Better project is actually a prime example of how social media can be a strong means of activism. The sheer number of people that have been getting involved is astonishing. People from all around the world have gone on the website to post their stories. Couples, singles, boys, girls, gay, lesbian, transgender, people of all different ages, are all joining together to help the cause, that it will get better. Ending your life isn’t going to solve the problem. And by doing that, you’re allowing the bullies to win. Some of the young people out there just need to know they aren’t alone in all of this. There have been other people in their shoes, that have gone through what they have gone through and are now living happy lives.
In response to the It Gets Better project, Georgetown University posted a video. A group of students got together and posted online them explaining the struggles they had to deal with by coming to terms that they were gay, coming out to their loved ones. A lot of them mention the fact that they were bullied just because they were “different. People didn’t even have to know that they were gay and that’s why they didn’t seem to fit in. But because there was something that seemed weird about these people growing up, most of them dreaded having to go to school because of the bullying they would encounter once there.
As long it has an impact, the kind of activism used really shouldn’t matter. Social media activism is able to get the word across a lot faster than traditional activism. Although Gladwell thinks that traditional activism requires a lot more effort, and is a lot more effective because you actually have to know people in order to participate, the It Gets Better campaign proves otherwise. It started with just one video on the internet and turned into thousands of video responses in return. All the attention it got was able to spread more than just videos on the internet. Through social media, people were able to get their views across to others, and with that it were able to positively impact their lives.
