So, How Does Activism Function In The Social Media Sphere?

Lets establish one thing immediately and get it out of the way: If you’re a political action organization, activist group, non-profit, or basically any organization with a political lean without consistent institutional support, if you’re not using social media in any aspect of your functioning, you are handicapping yourself.

While it is completely fair to say that social media has caused a lot of harm to society, it’s sticking around and is the primary way most people communicate now. So, why not find a way to utilize it to make the world better?

There are many ways in which social media can be utilized within a political action space. At an intra-organizational level, social media platforms such as Discord, Reddit, WhatsApp, and Facebook and common social media features such as group video and voice calling, direct messaging, and virtual planning and calendar software allow for political action organizations to coordinate offline events and have a space for internal debate and negotiations. On an external level, political action organizations can utilize social media to direct both members and observers to actions they can do to support the cause and recruit members to said cause.

In a more general sense, integrating social media into your political work is a valuable resource when it comes to networking and establishing relationships with other organizations and establish joint projects. There’s much truth to the concept of there being strength in numbers, especially within political action work. Social media is especially advantageous if you are wanting to establish connections outside of your local area, or even so far as your country. If you can make your movement achieve trans-national influence and impact, that can mean greater longevity and memory of the issues you are trying to advocate for as a whole.

It is important to keep in mind though, as much as I am singing the sweet praises of social media for political action work, it is important to keep in mind that given everyone has access to social media, that includes powerful people and government entities that may see your work as a threat to their goals, power, and status quo they are trying to uphold. Alongside that, social media platforms are businesses above all else, and therefore are commodified spaces. If the owners of these platforms find your cause and actions as a threat to their shareholders, themselves, or perhaps to people more powerful than them they benefit from, social media companies can and have used their terms and conditions against political figures and movements that they view as oppositional to their profits and success.

All in all, while I’m well aware and will not deny the harms that social media and how it is integrated into our society has, if ways can be found to allow for good to come from its usage, why should we shy away from that?