Have you ever found yourself afraid to engage in social media activism? I have always feared posting my opinion on controversial issues or topics online. The only reason that I can find behind this fear is that I am afraid of receiving backlash for what I do say or what I don't say at all. For instance, if I post a simple hashtag, what is that proving other than I support the movement? There has to be a next step to being an activist and actually contributing to a change.
First, I wanted to touch on what our guest, Dr. Riley had us think about. She asked us to think of reasons why someone might engage in digital activism. The responses consisted of the right reasons to engage and some questionable reasons to engage. In terms of the right reasons, people have a higher chance of reaching a broader audience on social media as well as receiving more engagement. Both of these reasons are logical and show the good sides of digital activism. On the other hand, the questionable reasons were that people might feel obligated to speak up, the movement is trending, or that people are fearful of being shamed for staying silent. All of which are the wrong reasons to engage in digital activism. For me, I have always felt trapped in this web of reasons why or why not to contribute.
How many people do you think posted the black square on Instagram for the Black Lives Matter movement? The answer continues to increase, but as of today, about 30 million people have posted the black square. Although people were posting this in solidarity, activists were concerned that this wouldn't change anything. In my opinion, it was just a post to prove to your followers that you support the movement. There is much more to be done than posting a black square on your socials. This is where the web of reasoning comes into play. This post was trending and was dealing with a very sensitive and serious problem. As a White woman, I was afraid to speak up, but at the same time I felt obligated to do so. I saw one of my peers post something such as "If were friends and you don't post the black square you're fake or you're a racist." How is that okay? When here some people are on the other end getting shamed for saying "too much." Where is the happy medium? It's not that I don't support the movement; I am completely disgusted that oppression is an ongoing issue, it's that I don't know how to contribute without being shamed for who I am or what I say. This is why I have always feared engaging in social media activism.
I think that the best way for all of us to overcome this is to educate ourselves and become culturally competent. We need to learn how to talk about these issues or they're never going to be resolved. For me, this is the first step to correctly engage in digital activism that will actually lead to a change.
Thank you for your attention,
Lauren
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