Prompt: Changing the World One Click at a Time?



I believe that social media gives positive impact on social activists but also can have negative outcomes when they use it more than enough. By using social media, activists can have easier access to their communities and become able to have more attentions from the society. For instance, when we don’t have enough time to be active joining movements or activities, we can tend to participate online and be an “online activist.” When more people talk online, the media also start talking about activists and their movements. At the same time, as social media allows people to speak up and type what they are really feeling, they do not have specific targeted audience or even enemies in front of them. I feel that when people don’t have targeted audience or when they are in their comfort zone with people who have the same opinions, they can satisfy with just typing their thoughts online. In my view of people trying to be activists online, I feel that making comments or posting status about what they believe does not make them social activists. That is one of the reasons why I never call myself activist unless I get out my room and actually do something with my hands. This relates to what we talked last week when we touched on feminism taking over the media. Yes, social media does work as to bring strong connections by having the same opinions on a page; however, when we physically speak up and stand up, we have the stronger connections as a team that can impress other communities and the society.
 I used to be an activist about banning child labors when I was in high school. When I was in high school, I had limited data and did not have Facebook or any kinds of online sources to post my opinions on my phone. I was a member of an organization and even coordinated a team in my area. We raised funds on the streets to send overseas so that children can have opportunities to obtain education. Our goal in the organization was not only sending money but also to send our messages to our local community. I did not have any online platform to be connected with other people; I was more active and also feeling connected without using the internet. Still, I can tell that I would enjoy sharing ideas and beliefs with other people if I had knew how to use the internet back then.

Comments

  1. JackieGMay 2, 2017 at 12:59 PM

    i agree that social media allows for more public discourse to happen surrounding important topics. When hundreds or even thousands of people are retweeting something, the media gets interested. Once that happens, even more people find out about this "movement." This is what makes social media so powerful. I think it's perfect for getting the word out about things but we need to take activism a step further and bring it into the real world, not just our phone screens.

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