Dear readers,
recently, I came across an interesting conversation between Jeffrey Masters from the LGBTQ&A podcast and Adam Eli, author of the book The New Queer Conscience, activist and community organiser with over 100k followers on Instagram and 6.5k followers on Twitter.
Jeffrey comes from quite a questioning perspective, one that I can sympathise with (or rather could since research done for this blog changes my perspective slowly), he says – and I can almost hear him smirking in a non-offensive way while he says it – “Looking at social media, it seems like everyone is an activist”. The use of social media has definitely changed the nature of activism, but can we actually compare boots-on-the-ground, concrete action with Instagram posting and using the right hashtags? Is online activism on par with on-ground activism?
The right tool for the job
Adam, quite seasoned in digital campaigning, points out that the nature or the aim of activism didn’t actually change. Just like the traditional social revolutionaries, we’re still trying to build wider support for the cause, reaching as many people as possible. That hasn’t changed. What has changed are the tools and media that we’re using. He explains that on-ground activism was always media-savvy even before social media and widespread internet usage, times that maybe some of the readers remember. Video recordings were usually part of the protests and short clips were sent to media and news outlets. These were basically like TikTok’s or tweets—short, sweet, and capturing the essence of the event, they had to grab attention in a very short period of time. Flyers and posters transformed into Instagram infographics and hashtags cutting down on paper and ink, the number of kilometres that have to be walked to reach people, and the need to take care of reprints. Reprints happen digitally and organically now. Social media as a tool is just a contemporary extension of traditional activist tools.
Acting activism
What about the performative character of social media? – Jeffrey asks. How can we trust the authenticity of what people share and whether they really care while the socials encourage users to create a certain persona in order to have more likes and followers? And now, being an activist is quite on-trend. Adam replies that, first, we need to differentiate between organisations and activists using social media to talk about their causes and other users whose motivation for sharing popular hashtags or images can vary and there might be a separation between clicks and action. However, the movements can benefit from the phenomenon of virality and popularity of certain users. Eli admits that when they start a campaign, they ask a person with lots of followers to do a shoutout on their social media simply for the campaign to gain a wider reach. We can use the social status of others to reach further—and the more of us, the better, and the numbers can translate to in-person attendance.
From the opposite perspective, Jeffrey admits that he is reluctant to post anything about protests he goes to because he doesn’t want to be seen as someone who brags about their activism. Adam replies that it’s all about visibility. He gives an example that if you go to Pride as a straight person and post about it on your socials, then the queer people around who follow you (ie. work colleagues) might feel more comfortable around you knowing that you’re an ally. Sharing is caring, one might say, and can help to create a more inclusive environment so we can see each other as allies in different causes.
A better solution?
Adam concludes: “My thought is sort of…unless you’re an activist or an organiser who is doing the work while simultaneously providing the solution that is better than social media, then I don’t really want to hear that. It is simply a tool that we have in our arsenal. We’re in a state of consistent crisis and have been as far as I’m concerned. So unless someone else has a bigger and better way of sharing and distributing information and organising people together, I don’t know what to say. [But] I’m all ears. I’m all ears. I’d love to hear it. Cut out Instagram and give me something else that makes more sense, please.”
Listen to the full conversation here.
Have a look at the following handles as well that could be of interests to you:
Thank you very much for reading to the end and I look forward to lively discussions directly on the post’s “Comments” section as well as on Facebook and Twitter. What do you think about the performative character of social media and what does “acting activism” actually mean? And what is something you feel was missing in the analysis? I’m eager to know and to broaden my horizons. Thank you in advance for the engagement!
“Read” you next time!