Digital Activism Culture
Social Media Connecting the World
Information sharing has tremendously evolved due to rapid developments made in technology. The rise of social media is significantly impactful today because it has become a medium that shapes opinions, changes perceptions and creates social activists.
The impact of widespread use of social media is evidently shown by a study conducted by Pew Research Center.
The study shows that we live in a world that is socially and politically connected through social media. However, the impact increases when information sharing inspires individual action.
Agents of Change
Social Activism by definition is an intentional action with the goal of bringing about social change.
Movements such as #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and #TIMESUP were propagated to tackle sexual harassment, racial discrimination and neglect towards injustice towards women. The individuals behind these movements are social activists. They act as agents of change because they amplify opinions that represent minorities or the neglected ones. Oftentimes, social activists shine light on the hidden issues in our society.
This in turn diverts attention and gains support across communities. A common view by a common individual becomes the trendiest view across platforms.
Breaking Down a Digital Ripple Effect
It all starts with a retweet or a share. An organisation or an individual that can amplify a voice for the masses is spotlighted and rapidly attracts attention.
To give an example, Progressive Students’ Collective (PSC) is an organisation led by students for students. A video of a girl chanting poems of a famous Pakistani poet went viral and the responses varied from support to complete outrage. Many disliked her spirit of enthusiasm and empowerment considering it to be ‘unsuitable’ for a woman to be chanting like that.
This led to media agencies being attentive to the organisers of this event and a Student Solidarity March was held on November 29th 2019 all across Pakistan.
These social activists were able to drive change with their spirit of harmony. The organisation was praised to be a voice for students all across the country as they demanded a better education and a more fair academic environment. This is a profound example of a digital movement magnifying underrepresentative issues in the society.
Ensuring Online Activism Has Offline Impact
It is commonly perceived that an individual cannot simply contribute to a social cause through social media. A simple like, comment, or share cannot have an impact therefore the success of digital activism is widely debated.
Digital activism has opened up to several opportunities for connectivity. While people are well informed and individuals are able to bring a change, the dark side of digital activism exists in the form of trolls and online death threats. An online debate can easily turn into a bloodbath and no impactful result is visible.
The new era of technology requires us to be more grounded and careful with our social media platforms. It can be a tool to start a revolution or it can simply confuse an individual to believe their slacktivism is in reality social activism.
As responsible global citizens or activists, it is important to ensure online actions have offline impacts. The activism goes beyond the hype for a cause. Digital Activism is successful when the news through social media inspires a drive in an individual to be actively involved and support the cause outside their screens.
