Last week I wrote an article about the issue of being chronically online where I shared my thoughts about the ramifications of this phenomenon gaining traction over the last few years. In addition, I shared a few of my other qualms about social media which included terminology misuse and the rapid spread of misinformation. There are undoubtedly many issues that plague social media platforms but as I mentioned in that article I believe that social media can be a fantastic tool to spread awareness if used responsibly.
My intended career goal is disability advocacy in the workplace and in the beginning months of the pandemic, I began to use my TikTok account to become an advocate for the LGBT community. I would post videos calling out homophobia and transphobia through both talking videos and using trending audios. Why do I bring up LGBT advocacy when my intended career path is disability advocacy? The answer is very simple: I noticed that I was able to reach massive audiences with little effort. My videos reached various demographics of people in multiple countries and all it took was me taking a few minutes to record and write a caption with a few hashtags. Methods of communication have been consistently evolving over time, shouldn’t our advocacy and activism efforts do the same?
Of course, I am not the first person to recognize the power of social media. In researching similar articles Her Campus members published on this subject I came across an article I would like to mention here. Sophia Robinson, a student at the University of Nottingham posted an article back in November 2022 entitled Five Ways to be an Activist From Your Own Bedroom. In this article, she listed a few ways to put in the work and responsibly use social media for activism. It is not only an interesting read but for those who are interested in activism and advocacy an important one.Â
She goes into more detail in her article but for now, I just want to generally list what she advises:
- Inform yourselfÂ
- Sign petitionsÂ
- Open conversationsÂ
- Get involved in social media campaignsÂ
- Partake in activism coursesÂ
Social media is not an uncontrollable force of nature. It is a method of communication created by humans for humans and can be shaped in any way we choose. Social media is one of the most effective communication tools in history. It holds immense power that generations before us could only dream of. As long as we use social media platforms responsibly and productively we can utilize them to modernize our activism and advocacy efforts for the better.Â