Thoughts about social justice on social media
Reflecting on the question of “What can I really do to make an impact?”
If you follow me on social media, you may or may not have noticed that I rarely ever post political or social commentary content. Well, you’re right. I don’t think I’ve ever publicly shared my opinions on social or political policies, or current events — never liking posts on Instagram or reposting them on my story, never retweeting on Twitter, never sharing on Facebook, never commentating on LinkedIn.
This never really bothered me. I’ve always been a very private person, and my view on social media has been that it’s a way to keep in touch with people from multiple eras of life and share my work and what I’m up to day to day. This viewpoint also comes from developing my career as a journalist — I’d heard many stories about reporters oversharing opinions on sensitive topics, and I thought it was safest to avoid all of it all together.
On Wednesday, May 27, I posted a photo of boba I made at home with my mom. That’s regular programming; ~aesthetic~ food content is a hallmark of my Instagram Stories. I didn’t think much of posting it — it looked nice and I wanted to share it. But throughout the day, as I checked the number of views on my Story, I watched Stories of friends and acquaintances I follow. I quickly began to notice that everyone was sharing posts about George Floyd, the Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer violently pinned him down by the neck for several minutes.
This was something I had already heard about earlier in the day, when I browsed through Twitter and Instagram in my daily breakfast social media perusal. But throughout the rest of Wednesday, I kept seeing the same posts shared on everyone’s Instagram Stories (particularly this one, this one and this one) — the first time I’ve truly noticed that everyone, even people who don’t always share content like this, seemed to be thinking about him. I started to think about my own actions. Did I have a responsibility to share these posts on my Stories too? Was it wrong for me to post a photo of boba when this murder, the latest story of horrible, inexcusable police action, was causing rightful outrage across my country?
I had a mental debate in my head throughout the day:
Clearly a large majority of people I follow know about George Floyd, and understand the need for justice and change. So I wouldn’t be sharing any new information.
If I did share a post about his death and/or being an ally to the Black community, then the people who need to see it most (which I guess are any racists I’m following that I don’t know about?? that thought makes me sick) are likely not going to click on it or care.
If people have noticed that I haven’t posted anything about him and automatically assume I don’t know or don’t care, then they probably don’t know me very well. Why should I feel self-conscious that people are judging me if I post or don’t post something in the first place?
What will posting about George Floyd really do to change someone’s behavior? How many other people in my feed are just posting about him because it seems like the right thing to do, or it looks good in their feed, or they are also self-conscious that not posting about him will make them seem like they are on the wrong side? How many people are actually making a conscious effort to learn and listen beyond social media?
I convinced myself that there was no reason for me to post about George Floyd — I was personally thinking about the racial injustice in this country, and I don’t need to necessarily share that. I’m not an influencer, and my following is small. What I post on social media is my choice, and I choose to not publicly share my opinions, and people can judge if they want. End of the conversation.
But it wasn’t the end of the conversation — I couldn’t stop thinking about the role of social media for social justice. As I edited blogs and answered emails at work; as I crunched, curtsy-lunged and jumped through Chloe Ting’s Summer Shred Challenge; as I showered; as I tried to fall asleep at night. Into the next day, as I did my whole quarantine routine all over again. It was eating away at me.
I started to realize that as much as I thought social media was a way of passively — and fleetingly — promoting social justice, it still had an effect on me. The deluge of the same posts, over and over again, meant I was constantly reminded whenever I opened Instagram or Twitter. It made me constantly think about what I can do to actually make an impact and become an ally to the Black community. The feeling of discomfort I felt was a sign that I needed to do something now.
If you’re like me, and have thought that social media is a passive form of social justice — and you don’t think sharing or retweeting a viral post will make any difference — it’s still your responsibility to do something. You don’t have to share anything you don’t want to. But seeing the same posts in your feed, over and over again, should be a reminder that you need to take action in some form.
I’m writing this post primarily as a reminder to myself about how I feel right now, and to hold myself accountable for the growth and learning I need to make due to my privilege as a non-Black person. But I also realize that utilizing my writing to share this experience and my thoughts could be helpful for someone else.
My first task in holding myself accountable (well actually second, this post is my first) is by learning more about the community that’s in danger and suffering, which in this case is the Black community. I decided to do this by listening to the lectures and reading the texts from AFAM 162, a free Open Yale course (I was inspired by Ashley aka bestdressed, who posted this course on her Instagram Story — this is a good example of why I think influencers and public figures absolutely have a responsibility to use their platforms to educate). I never took an African American Studies course in college, and I think that taking time to educate myself beyond social media, so that I can be a better listener and hopefully a knowledgeable resource when the time comes, is something I need to do.
I’m not sure what’s next. Considering that social media is what caused me to reflect on this topic and write this post, maybe it is time for me to start sharing my opinions online. This post is the first baby step — I’ve never written about this before, but it feels good to finally let this out. In a few months, I’ll write a follow-up reflecting on my time taking AFAM 162 and what I’ve learned since. I hope you think about where you stand in all this, and what you can do personally, whether that be advocacy through social media or taking action on top of that, too. We all need to care.
If you’ve made it this far into this post, you might as well check out these resources:
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (if you don’t love reading nonfiction, I would highly recommend this novel)
20+ Allyship Actions for Asians to Show Up for the Black Community Right Now by Michelle Kim
This Tweet from Akilah Hughes is a good explanation on why we shouldn’t share videos of Black people being murdered
Being An Anti-Racist Ally guide from @officialmillennialblack
This post from @mimizhuxiyuan lists more resources and where you can donate
This Google Doc is an extensive list of petitions, resources, and contact information for officials
A Letter From Young Asian-Americans To Their Families About Black Lives Matter from NPR’s Code Switch Podcast (article, video, and podcast)
And if you have resources you’ve found helpful, please share them with me! I’d like to take a look.