Social media has given the average person a voice that goes beyond their immediate family and circle of friends. How they choose to use that voice can vary wildly. Most of us use that voice for mundane, everyday things, like selfies and pet photos, but some use it for something much bigger.
I have personally never really thought about the effect that social networking and social media have had and continue to have on social change. However, after reading and viewing all of this week’s online content, I am overwhelmed by the extent to which social media can affect social change. Some of the examples made me cry from sadness or from joy; others absolutely terrified me.
The ways in which people use social media to affect change are numerous and varied. They include using images to spread love and prevent war (tears of joy), bringing attention to unjust acts (tears of sadness), showing disdain for a corporate entity’s actions, or launching influence campaigns to disrupt another country’s election process (terrifying).
On the positive side, each generation has become more and more connected through social media and millennials are now the biggest group to use their social networks to advocate change. Posting has become as important as volunteering or donating, because it brings awareness to important causes. I think social media works so well for social change, not just because of the breadth of people you can reach, but because of the creative, visual aspect of it as well.
I went out to Facebook to see what recent posts I could find for social change and I found one posted just an hour previous of this writing by a church I frequent. Even after everything I read this week, I was still rather surprised that it was that easy to find. The post was a repost of an article with side-by-side covers of both a Girls’ Life magazine and an example of what that magazine cover could be in a less stereotypical world. I’ve included it here:
What fascinates me most about it, besides that the cause is close to my heart, is that it stemmed from a different article comparing Girls’ Life to Boys’ Life magazines. A graphic designer named Katharine Young saw the article and was moved to create her own version of the cover. The articles were both from a few years ago, but the social issue is still pertinent today, and now years later it is still popping up on social media. So not only does social media provide a channel for social change, an immediate voice, but it also provides a permanent example to be revisited and reused for future change.