The power is yours: the impact of social media on social change

 

When I was six, Captain Planet told me “the power is yours”. Yes, he was a blue cartoon with green hair, I learnt a lot from his environment-loving gang. Not only the importance of respecting our planet, but how our actions as a collective group can make a difference.

 

 

Prior to the era of Captain Planet, if a group of people with a common goal felt passionate about creating change they would take action by coordinating a protest, or rally in public place for causes like Indigenous Australian rights, equal pay or marriage equality to name a few. The aim of coordinating a big event was to be seen and heard in numbers by those high up in the political system who could enable the desired change in society (Earl & Kimport, 2011).

 

30,000 people on Melbourne’s climate march by Takver (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

Fast forward 20 years, and while Captain Planet watches from the sideline, technology and our way of communicating continues to evolve. Protests and rally’s continue in this day in age, however social media has become a game changer, an incredibly powerful tool in creating social connection and movement. At the click of a button we have the power to have our say and do it freely from wherever we are in the world. Paelo (2012) describes social media platforms as the modern newspaper advertisement, leaflet or poster that once caught the attention of many and now captures the attention of millions.

 

Social media driving viral social change #timesarechanging #thepowerisyours #ALC701 https://t.co/KKxop0Y4L2 via @collectiveevol

— Molly (@mhcolussa) August 5, 2016

 

A social campaign that has proven success for enabling change was the Ice Bucket Challenge. In 2014, you would have watched friends and celebrities drench themselves in a bucket of ice water to raise funds and awareness of motor neuron disease (MND). A total of 1 million dollars was raised which enabled a project team to successfully find a gene linked to MND, helping to better understand the disease and develop an effective treatment. Many people criticised the viral trend as an act of  ‘slacktivism‘. It turns out that a joint effort in sharing this important message in a fun, engaging way generated awareness of an awful disease bringing hope to MND patients.

Over the last few weeks you may scrolled through your newsfeed to see your male Facebook friends deliver a message accompanied by a selfie with the OK hand signal. The #itsokaytotalk message aims to shine the spotlight on depression among young men, encouraging them to talk to their mates when they are feeling down. Posting a picture online and tagging friends is such an easy thing to do, the flow on effect could be massive. I’m incredibly supportive of this positive mental health message and hope that it inspires men to feel comfortable in reaching out to their mates when times are tough.

 

Absolutely amazed watching this positive mental health message spread #itsokaytotalk let's bring it in. #ALC701 https://t.co/lLyaMWLt37

— Molly (@mhcolussa) August 22, 2016

#ItsOkayToTalk encourages men to open up about mental health https://t.co/9mUcPJI8XY #StampOutStigma pic.twitter.com/01eQEXFJe8

— Stamp Out Stigma (@StampStigma) August 30, 2016

 

There are thousands of successful campaigns out there each starting a passionate idea and drive for change. Online petitions like change.org provide power to over 4 million users to unite and take action. Recently, Aldi Australia made the call to stop selling caged eggs after 97,007 supporters signed a successful petition campaign. A Victorian student created the petition and animal welfare organisations quickly jumped on board. It was shared via mainstream media and social media gaining traction and grabbing the attention of the decision makers at Aldi Australia.

 

A petition lets users share their values and beliefs with a single click. Petitions are also explicitly collaborative: The whole point is to get more people to sign them (Beato, 2014)

 

30,000 people on Melbourne’s climate march by Takver (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Who doesn’t love an egg joke?! – drawing by me

Social change is achieved by lots of passionate people motivated to do little things over time. Like a protest, it’s the small actions of many that lead to big wins. Social media enhances knowledge sharing and ease of communication. I’m not saying a single tweet can save the world, but at the click of a button we can empower people to be agents of change and that’s a pretty good place to start.

#thepowerisyours

 

 

References:

Anderson, G & Herr, K 2007, ‘Activism, Social and Political’ Encyclopaedia of Activism and Social Justice, School Library Journal pp. 19-27, retrieved 1 August 2016, EBSCOhost

Beato, G 2014, ‘From Petitions to Decisions’, Stanford Social Innovation Review, retrieved 1 August 2016, <http://ssir.org/articles/entry/from_petitions_to_decisions&gt;

Earl, J & Kimport, K 2011, ‘Digitally enabled social change: Activism in the Internet Age’, The MIT Press, retrieved 6 August 2016, eLibrary ProQuest

Karatzogianni, A 2016, ‘Beyond hashtags: how a new wave of digital activists is changing society’, The Conversation, retrieved 1 August 2016, <https://theconversation.com/beyond-hashtags-how-a-new-wave-of-digital-activists-is-changing-society-57502

Kansas. M & Chugh. R 2016, ‘Changing the world one online petition at a time: how social activism went mainstream’, The Conversation, Retrieved 1 August 2016 <https://theconversation.com/changing-the-world-one-online-petition-at-a-time-how-social-activism-went-mainstream-61756&gt;

Palao, G, 2013 ‘Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism’, Pluto Press, retrieved 2 August 2016, eLibrary ProQuest