If you have Instagram, then you’ve seen the bold typography calling for action on a myriad of issues. From ICE raids, to climate change and protests, significant events always come with a repostable message.
But instead of feeling empowered or mobilized, we often feel trapped by our screens. Reposting graphics on our stories gives us a false sense of autonomy. We can acknowledge that something is wrong around us, but all we can do is interact with it.
If you want to take control of your political situation, you have to look up from your phone and start finding solutions.
To start, stop going on Instagram for news. While many national publications have adapted to users’ attention spans, short clips fundamentally give you less information and context. They are made to be digestible, not complex, which means your brain never stops trying to understand what you are seeing.
While I could be idealistic and say that we should take the time to process each piece of news we consume, the platforms we use make it nearly impossible. The time we use to scroll through a boiled-down analysis of horrifying events is better served elsewhere.
The solution to this problem is not putting your phone down. It’s viewing learning as a choice, and participating in it because you care.
Intentionally picking up your phone to read the AP Morning Wire from your email or turning on any number of news podcasts can do wonders for your news comprehension. Some of my favorites are This American Life, Morning Edition and Up First.
This method can also put humanity back into what you’re consuming. Actively giving topics time in your brain, which also means putting your phone down more often, helps you digest and understand the human aspects of events happening around you.
Despite what social media companies encourage, some things are meant to be slow. You don’t need to know about the entire life of an immigrant in 15 seconds. You have the time to try and understand people and their situations while learning more about the world around you.
If you have the privilege of being a college student with enough financial mobility to have breaks during the day, start actively engaging in the world around you.
Next, take your emotions nationally and channel them locally. At the national level, there is almost nothing you can concretely do to make a material change on your own. Protesting is vital too, but it’s not the only thing you can do. Columbia has so many causes that need volunteers. The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri has shifts open to the public, and the Central Missouri Humane Society constantly needs dog walkers.
The causes in this city are vital, potent and always willing to have people join them. I learned about these organizations through my service sorority, but I guarantee any organization that you’ve heard of has opportunities to volunteer or knows someone who needs help. When we feel powerless nationally, we need to root ourselves in activity locally.
Finally, think about the causes that actually matter to you. There is so much pain in the world right now, but that’s not getting better by scrolling through Instagram. If you like reading, focus on libraries and book bans. If you care about music, volunteer to run concerts. The opportunities are there; you just have to look for them.
Instead of trying so hard to make apps that were built to make money work for your activism, find more meaningful ways to engage with news and the world around you. While an infographic shows your opinion on a topic, it doesn’t materially change anything. Instead of reposting, you have to use what you know and feel to actually change the world around you.