#not adding hashtags for the boost since im being serious

[quirkyackerman]

I'm going on a hiatus here in tumblr. 😪 now with Attack on Titan manga ended; I can finally focus on my Nurses Aide exams 🏥💊💉. Don't know when I'll be back but I think it's best if I take a break just for the sake of my mental health too. I will always love this series but I'm still trying to cope with the bittersweet ending of the manga. 🤧😓

Be back soon. Until then please stay safe to all my followers here. 🙏🏼🙇🏻‍♀️❤

MIKASA ACKERMAN DESERVE BETTER. 🥲

[digitalspheres-blog]

3. activism in the digital world

The online world has certainly changed the game for activists - whether it's for the better or worse is up to you.

The use of social media has made spreading a message and getting a voice heard much easier for activist organisations, especially in a global sense. With the ability to create petitions, events and articles and then share them on social media platforms to millions across the globe, activists are now able to create more momentum and gain more supporters than ever before. The flip side to this is the rise of ‘clicktvisim’ - the act of supporting a cause from a simple click of the mouse. Clicktivism has led to people signing an online petition, boosting their ‘good person’ status as they feel they've helped create change, but never actually going out to actively contribute.

source: https://tenor.com/view/im-trying-to-be-good-trying-good-better-person-kristen-bell-gif-11002922

#BlackLivesMatter is said to have been one of the first notable examples of online activism after being created in 2013, following the release of George Zimmerman - an American man who fatally shot 17-year-old African-American Trayvon Martin. The hashtag was created by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi to fight against the unjust violence experienced by the “Black communities by the state and vigilantes” as stated on their website. The hashtag gained global momentum quickly which has resulted in almost 3,000 protests occurring since 2014 and in 2018 it was estimated by Pew Research Center that #BlackLivesMatter featured in over 17,000 tweets per day. Without this support that has stemmed from their social media presence, the movement may not have been able to (or at least it would’ve taken a lot more time and effort) make the political changes they have - the charging of police officers for their crimes, the banning of police departments from obtaining military equipment, and the increased wear of body cameras by the police, enabling the correct accountability to be held in such instances. 

source: https://giphy.com/gifs/black-lives-matter-7iL3tke98yuA

Other successful online activism campaigns include #MeToo, #HeForShe, the #ALSIceBucketChallenge and #MarchForOurLives. Whilst all of these have used social media to their advantage and fought for their courses both on and offline, I think it is important to note the vital role social media played for #MarchForOurLives. This hashtag was created to fight for tighter gun laws in the United States by student survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018. The hashtag allowed these students to reach an audience so large that more than 450 marches took place across the US on the weekend of March 24-25 2018. The entire event was organised online and picked up an enormous amount of press and recognition from high profile celebrities and influencers, resulting in the march becoming the largest youth-led protest since the Vietnam War era.

These examples all rely on, or stem from, the use of the hashtag that I’ve discussed before as an affordance that has given a whole new meaning to Twitter and made social media all the more connected, across platforms. Of course, online activism comes in all different forms just as anything does. Adbsuters does an incredible job at breaking down the advertising we constantly are exposed to and challenging consumerism. They protest serious topics in a way that manages to be taken seriously despite its light-hearted nature, often using culture jamming. Culture jamming focuses on interrupting advertisements and revealing the underlying ideologies, exposing the propaganda that often lurks below. 

source: https://www.adbusters.org/spoof-ads

I do personally believe that social media has changed activism for the better and that those who simply click ‘sign petition’ but never make effort to act on it are still doing more than they once would've without the online petition - when was the last time you signed a hard copy petition someone shoved in your face outside of the supermarket? Also, whilst they might not act on it, there are still plenty of eager and passionate activists out there fighting for their cause and still plenty of organisations out there finding new recruits and volunteers - most of whom have found about the other online.