By Sabrina Fay
The right of the American people is to speak their minds, just as it is their right to protest, and to peaceably assemble in support of or opposition to a political controversy. But what if freedom fighting can be done from the comfort of one's couch at home? As celebrities, senators, and students alike tweet and blog the day away, political discussions and movements form in the span of just a few hours, propagating on the hundreds of thousands willing to press 'share'. Does this breed a generation of valiant, outspoken individuals unafraid to take on figures of authority, or rather impetuous, ineffective braggarts who talk up change without using action to back it? Let us consider the question.
Police brutality and racism, LGBT+ rights, sexism and assault, property rights, immigration, gun reform . . . all issues connected with online movements popularized by hashtags like #SayHisName, #MeToo, #IStandWithStandingRock, #BlackLivesMatter, #MarriageEquality, and #RefugeesWelcome. These movements don't necessarily originate on social media, but they use platforms like Twitter and Facebook to spread their messages. Through mere taps on a keyboard, powerful statements, individual stories, and calls to action suddenly become notes in a cacophonous chorus of others crying out. When representatives, news networks and even the President himself are tagged in post after post, it forces them to take notice. Much quicker and more public than a letter-writing campaign, the wave of social justice through social media is one riding high on the change it has spurred.
For example, after #OscarsSoWhite and #MeToo, campaigns respectively about diversity and sexual assault in Hollywood, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has issued statements regarding a renewed commitment to nominating and recognizing diverse films while swaths of high-powered women (Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd, and Salma Hayek to name a few) have come forward to speak on their experiences with harassment and assault, empowering and encouraging others to do the same. Perhaps the most resonant and recent show of activism at the digital level effecting change is in the case of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Parkland shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez, via CNET. Gonzalez made headlines when she gained more Twitter followers than the National Rifle Association
In the wake of a terrifying shooting where a former student killed 17 students and teachers with an AR-15 rifle, the survivors and family members took to media to share their stories. In addition to speaking engagements in person and on television, the hashtags #NeverAgain, #MSDStrong, and #WeAretheChange were started and spawned a national push for gun discussion and gun law reform. What's amazing about the Parkland students is that in less than a month they have inspired planned walkouts of students across the country and have directly engaged with their lawmakers and representatives through their sway on these platforms. “There just seems to be a lot more determination to get something done — to finally get something done,” said California Representative Mike Thompson in a phone interview with The Hill, describing the surge of protests as "a new type of organic outcry." When one thinks about why the Parkland students seem to be so proficient at producing such political pressure, it's not hard to see that their ability to utilize the digitized, Internet-driven culture in which they have been raised is playing a key role. They are the most recent, and certainly some of the bravest, amongst an army of activists who have turned their smartphones to swords charging along the frontlines of change.
So where does the problem lie in digital activism, "hashtivism", and the like? Meritorious in its mission and championed by passionate individuals with a thirst for change, where can it go wrong? Well, in its execution and its real-life effect, according to critics.
In practice, it's a lot easier to say "I support you!" to a person or cause in reply to an online post than it is to send money to their campaign or show up to their protest. Many people feel they have done their part by the act of sharing, and leave it at that, thus not actually affecting any change. In an opinion article from The Guardian titled "Clicktivism is Ruining Leftist Activism", Micah White writes that digital activism bypasses actual investment and belief in a movement for click percentages and widespread appeal. "This model of activism uncritically embraces the ideology of marketing. It accepts that the tactics of advertising and market research used to sell toilet paper can also build social movements," he writes, pointing out that the success of a belief cannot be measured in media metrics. White makes a valid point in critiquing the seeming commodification of ideas and activism, but his view is only one of several skeptical perspectives.
In response to the #BringBackOurGirls movement, where prominent figures like Michelle Obama posted pictures on Twitter to in support of rescuing 200 abducted Nigerian girls, came critics like George Will saying, "Are these barbarians in the wilds of Nigeria supposed to check their Twitter accounts and say, 'Uh oh, Michelle Obama is very cross with us, we better change our behavior'?" (comments made during a panel on Fox News) Will is not alone in his skepticism of digital activism and awareness movements, but he's hardly warranted in his example.
First Lady Michelle Obama in 2014. Image via Twitter
The #BringBackOurGirls campaign spurred the United States and United Kingdom to send teams of experts to Nigeria to aid in the search for the children, and showed international support for the girls and their families.
The criticisms that can be made against digital activism are myriad, but they can't include the accusation that it doesn't work. Through each #IStandWith and #IStandBy, through #BLM and #NeverAgain, millions of dollars have been raised for these causes, thousands marching in protest and uniting, despite hundreds of miles in physical distance, under a common mantra and purpose. Even when awareness is all that is accomplished, at least it can be said that something was done. Decades ago, people had letters to the editor and phone calls on their landline; today, we have the opportunity to craft change in just 140 characters and send it to the eyes of millions around the globe. It is a great power, placing great responsibility into the hands of all who possess it. Here's hoping that such power is safeguarded as a force for good.
