Can social change be created in 140 characters?

Something is always trending in the sphere of the internet. From retweeting your best friend’s hilarious selfie, to following Michelle Obama on twitter, there is always something to look at. Since social media started, people put their opinions on the web for everyone to see. It became a place to share small glimpse of everyone’s life: who they’re friends with, what they think, what they are doing, etc. To define social media, a place to create and share media, but is all media, good media? Do social media outlets have an effect on social change or even social agenda of political dilemmas? Hashtivism is the newest try at creating social change in this world of the internet.

                I define Hashtivism a:  Hashtag activism is the action of using social media to produce the attention towards certain activism issues. Hashtivism is a topic that is streaming throughout the web circling the topic of a certain magnitude. The concept is an interesting one, being able to produce news through a twitter feed, and send out awareness. Being able to share a news story by opening an application on any smart phone could create a social change. Unfortunately, social change isn’t as easy as it sounds. Hashtivism as its own set of problems that spark.

                An example of Hashtivism is one like, #bringbackourgirls. This one particular hash tag was used by a large mass of people, including Americans. Did it change anything about this kidnapping of these poor 273 Nigerian girls’ lives? Probably not but it did create a Facebook page that updates the amount of days that has passed since the kidnapping. https://www.facebook.com/bringbackourgirls

It helped Michelle Obama practice her frowning face with a sign displaying the hashtag. It may have started a small spark, but those girls are still not found. The search for them eventually came to a halt, and those poor girls are still missing out in the world.

That particular Hashtivism didn’t seem to actually help the Nigerian girls. It seems as though these Hashtivism aren’t beneficial to helping the people who need it the most. To create social change action needs to be taken, and policies need to change. Is this Hashtivism just another way to communicate your opinion and show that people are “aware” of what is going on in the world? Is it apart of social identity? Showing your followers that you care about what is happening to other countries and give your opinion to fight one way or another. Being able to see how certain people view topics can create conversations, but are these conversations beneficial? Mostly, nothing happens when people discuss certain topics, and they end where they started. Most social change can’t happen on the internet or on twitter. A bigger action must take place to actually complete something of use and substance. Online identity and awareness of a certain matter is just the first step.  

There are solutions that can help people like the Nigerian girls, such as, keeping up on the latest news through government streamed channels. Donating money, if possible to the cause. Try to get involved in your local government to see if there is anything you can do from home. There are numerous ways to help people, but re tweeting a hash tag isn't the most beneficial way.