By Kristen Santer
Hashtag activism was first defined by Philip Howard, the principle investigator for the Digital Activism Research Project, who described the term as “what happens when someone tries to raise public awareness of a political issue using some clever or biting keyword on social media.” Some popular examples of hashtag activism are #Kony2012, #BringBackOurGirls, #IceBucketChallenge and #ICantBreathe.
It is good to feel impassioned when we witness and experience injustices, and there is nothing wrong with spreading awareness and caring about society. Hashtag activism is a great way to give charities and social causes much-needed exposure. Through the medium of Twitter and other social media sites, many people believe they are helping their cause by retweeting its slogan.
However, hashtag activism is a passive form of true activism. We believe that pouring ice water over ourselves, instead of actually donating to the ALS charity, and retweeting #ICantBreathe, instead of talking to our senators and congressmen, will make a difference. Hashtag activism is a good way to have an instant impact and spread awareness, but there are not many examples where it actually produced major societal changes.
In a commencement speech to the Dartmouth Class of 2014, Shonda Rhimes stated, “A hashtag is not helping. A hashtag is not a movement. A hashtag does not make you Dr. King. A hashtag does not change anything. It’s a hashtag. It’s you, sitting on your butt, typing into your computer and then going back to binge-watching your favorite show.”
Nigerian-American writer, Teju Cole criticized the #BringBackOurGirls campaign on Twitter, arguing that the recent interest oversimplified and sentimentalized the country’s issues, especially since this kind of activity has been going on for quite some time.
I reacted the same way during the height of #Kony2012. I remember seeing the posters around my school and my friends on Facebook constantly reminding everyone that the date to stand up was coming. Jason Russell’s video that started this craze is very cute and well intentioned, and features his adorable son.
However, there were no real steps or practical solutions to #Kony2012; all we knew was that Kony needed to be stopped. Further, no one really knew anything about Kony besides the fact that he was abducting children and forcing them to become child soldiers. People also ignored the fact that Kony had pushed out of Uganda several years before the short film was released.
Hashtag activism does not replace the benefits of solid societal restructuring and change put in place by physical organizations based on relationships and dedication. Prescribing to the “cause of the day,” only to move on to another in a few months, will not produce lasting change. I advise everyone to choose one cause and stick to it, either by taking 10 dollars out of your monthly budget or donating time to your local food kitchen.
