Hey there! I grew up in a time of technology, from the iPad, iPod, and iPhone to the switch and ps4. I don't really know life without some form of technology. I have had socials before and posted with hashtags however, I don't really partake in them now. Due to personal reasons, I have chosen to distance myself from social media, but that doesn't exclude the fact that a majority of my friends, family, and peers have socials. In today's post, I will be discussing the article "Understand the Versatility and Necessity of Hashtag Activism" and giving my thoughts, opinions, and critical review of hashtag activism. So stick around if you wish to hear them and I will also provide the link too if you wish to follow along!
Val Razo, the author of the article, starts off with the history of the hashtag itself, "In 2007, when the pound sign was first used by Chris Messina as a metadata tag to find topics of interest with ease...". This is a good way to start off the article as it provides the readers some background to this popular function. Even I didn't know how this function came about, so it was an interesting fact to learn.
Val then describes how "...Twitter adopted the use of hashtags into its code, turning the concept of hashtag marketing into a viable marketing tactic. Later, various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Reddit, Tumblr, and Pinterest supported the idea of using hashtags". I believe hashtags can be a good thing in the sense that small businesses or creators can now get their content out easier and to a wider more specific audience. People can get their products better seen or people's issues can be better heard and reach louder and farther than ever. However like with anything, people can abuse it, and social media is no exception.
I believe hashtag activism at its core isn't a bad thing necessarily, but people can misuse or "perform" with it. Val describes hashtag activism as, "the act of building up public support through social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) with the help of relevant hashtags". Like I said before this can be good for small businesses or creators that need their voices heard but are having a hard time doing so. These marginalized groups are now being given a platform to voice concerns or injustices they have faced, and many can agree that is a good thing. Val even says, "When done right, hashtag activism campaigns help to achieve various goals".
Val then gets into the many activism hashtags that have come up throughout the years such as, "The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has become a protest against police brutality and all racial violence against African-American people" or the #metoo "movement against sexual harassment and sexual abuse".
These hashtags were very important as people were finally acknowledging issues and people's stories nationwide. But issues with these hashtags were still there. For example, the #metoo movement was wonderful in the sense that women were finally able to come forward with their voices and talk about issues, problems, harassment, and r-pes that they kept to themselves. Women were finally allowed to feel safe to share their painful stories, memories, and experiences with such assaults. However, the famous Terry Crews, a strong black man, came forth with his story of facing groping harassment involving someone in a high-power position. Instead of being faced with a welcoming and understanding environment like others, people like Wendy Williams (05:48 to 07:24) mocked him, doing so on her live TV show. Alluding that his story was not brave because he was a man, let alone a strong black man at that. While she apologized, later on, the fact she even said what she said in the first place was just plain horrific.
The BLM hashtag was also another highly used one. The hashtag in itself was wonderful as many got to tell their opinions and stories about racism, harassment, experiences, and killings involving themselves or others. People were putting the hashtag in many posts and even did the black square/blackout on their profile picture in extra support. However, the issue that arose after time passed was this was a trend for some and once it was "over" support stopped almost. No more BLM hashtags, no more black squares/blackouts on profile pictures as they were changed to something else once it was no longer "trendy". This was by far a big slap in the face as just because the "trend" of BLM was over, the discrimination and killings were not. This is not to discredit the movement at all, the people who did end up supporting it had helped and those who continued to support it helped as well. But to point out and show how this is what hashtag activism is at its worse really. Some see it as a performance and they want the brownie points of supporting it but not actually helping much beyond that. Not being racist is the bare minimum and always will be. Being anti-racist is what we should be striving for by saying something, doing something, and standing in solidarity with black people who are still going through it now. They don't get to change their profile picture and stop supporting BLM as they are directly affected by it. Seeing this as a trendy thing to some truly made (and still makes) my blood boil.
Again, all in all, I don't think hashtag activism is a bad thing. Sometimes even just acknowledging a problem can help start the road to discussion, healing, and change. Val concludes with, "The bottom line? With the right hashtags, it's easy for activists to tag relevant content and cut through the noise which helps to raise awareness of social issues and involve interested social media users in mass movement and protest". This is true and I fully support and applaud it, but it cannot stop there. I ask that if you wish to make a bigger change in activism, go to protests and speak up when needed. Staying silent and not joining in on racist jokes or assaults is not enough. It is one thing to not be racist yourself, it's another thing to be anti-racist. Hashtagging issues is a good way to start getting into activism, but actively stopping bullying, harassment, killings, racist, and misogynistic rhetoric is another.
Anyways, thanks for reading my rant, hopefully, this gave you some good insight and something to think about. Goodbye, and I hope you have a lovely day! :)
Distancing yourself from social media is probably one of the best things you can do. I did deleted all social media before and focused on myself. I also agree with you on how people should do more when it comes it activism. There are a lot of people put there who say things but don't put in the actual effort.
ReplyDelete