2020 has been a whirlwind of a year so far, and essentially all over the world we have been able to connect and share our experiences, opinions and triumphs. But there’s a catch, the convenience of digital engagement has left room for social movements and causes to become “trendy” rather than necessary. A hashtag for one is a reality for another, and the presence of social media has enabled what is called “performative activism” or activism done to advance one’s social capital, rather than to actually support the cause or movement. 

Let me lift the veil for you, we all know that one person who takes pictures of books, and never reads them. It’s the simple concept of ‘doing it for the ‘gram’, but when it comes to social justice and social movements, more harm can be done than good. A viral post on Twitter showed a woman in Santa Monica, California stopping in front of a boarded up store for a photo-op, then promptly returning to her car to continue on with her day. This was a great example of performative activism and rightfully so, many social media users criticized the woman’s actions. So, what was wrong with her taking the picture? Although there may be no physical harm that results from performative activism, it doesn’t help, and if you’re not helping then what exactly are you doing? 

When it comes to successful movements, they have a few things in common, and one of them is relying on engagement, not rhetoric. Beyond hashtags and retweets are protests, educational campaigns and volunteer opportunities. Social media has an equivocal impact on the way we communicate and advocate. On one hand, information and petitions can be shared in an instant and have the potential to be seen around the world. On the other hand, it does exactly that, and then some. Although social media is a reflection of reality, it isn’t our reality. When there is an effort to support a social movement, those efforts should go beyond technology and translate into advocacy and action. This isn’t to say that reposting or creating informative content about current events is ineffective, however, sometimes well intentioned acts have unexpected consequences. Here’s what I mean: on June 2nd, 2020, Blackout Tuesday was a collective effort to protest police brutality by posting a black square on Instagram. Sounds harmless right? Well, not so much. Some people actually ended up posting the black square along with the hashtag, #Blacklivesmatter to participate. Unfortunately, this quickly became counterproductive for any disclaimers and information being shared with the same hashtag. 

We are more than capable of contributing passion and action behind the post we create and share on social media. These movements still exist beyond our screens, and as a generation of innovators, we are advocating for and working towards a world we see as fair and just, Instagram can’t do it for us. 

This post was written by Tamara Smith.