The internet has given us unlimited access to information that we would otherwise not learn about through traditional news platforms. Daily, we learn about devastating environmental issues and mass human rights violations through the social media accounts of individuals actively facing calamity. As a result, many have taken advantage of the accessibility of social media, using it to promote and advocate for charities and movements they are passionate about. This had led to a dependency on an emerging form of social justice: social media activism.
The recent discovery of mass grave sites on former residential school grounds sparked social media activists across the country. Hashtags like #everychildmatters and accounts advocating for Indigenous rights were trending and could be found on a lot of Instagram stories. The strong social media presence created by passionate activists around the world led to the incorporation of a new Canadian federal statutory holiday on September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation—a day of reflection to honour Indigenous children lost during the residential school era.
The question now becomes: is sharing informative posts and using hashtags on our social media pages as effective as fundraising, protesting, or lobbying?
“Social media activism has really given us unprecedented access to democratize information because the majority of young people get their news from social media,” says Jillian Sunderland, a sociology PhD student...
Read Full Story: https://themedium.ca/the-effectiveness-of-social-media-activism/
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