The Aesthetic of Activism
Our daily scrolling on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media apps exposes us to a multitude of happenings in our immediate environments and around the world. At any given moment we can see posts or stories highlighting police brutality, ICE detention, the homelessness crisis, the ongoing genocides in Gaza or Sudan, or a plethora of other issues. Yet this increased visibility does not always lead to impact. In fact, it can even lead to a state of paralysis: “What am I to do as an individual in the face of all these atrocities?” And what of the poster? What are they doing to make an impact beyond sharing with however many followers they have?
Posting online is not inherently performative, but criticisms toward a lack of action beyond clicking a few buttons are valid. It is hard to say how many people are sharing information online to improve one’s own self-image versus how many are genuinely trying to spread the word on problems being faced in their community and beyond. At the end of the day it likely doesn’t matter much. At worst, the performative poster is spreading information that needs to be spread. If their motivation to do so is only in self-interest, the cracks will be exposed when their inaction contradicts what they share. The image they’ve spent time cultivating will eventually reveal itself as the facade it is. Still, raising awareness of today’s problems can end up being another form of consumption when we fail to make a connection to the systems which perpetuate and allow the problem’s existence. Failing to link issues to systems may leave people lost and lead to inaction in the face of being overwhelmed. Beyond this, not all accusations of performative actions are necessarily in good-faith.
Virtue Signaling
Posting online, especially political content, can come with accusations of virtue signalling. A charge that one is only posting about an issue or their activism for social approval. This ignores that there is value in sharing activist work as PR and the importance of normalizing trying to make a difference or being informed on what is going on in the world. There also exists the possibility that the need to throw out this accusation comes from a place of personal insecurity. When we see someone else talking about an issue we may have not been paying attention to, it forces us to reevaluate our own morals, actions, and priorities. It becomes much easier to say they are sharing information with ill-intent than it is to reckon with thoughts on our own inaction. Of course, there is always the possibility of what you see online being performative. Everyone is performing to a certain extent when it comes to existing in online spaces. It is important to not allow this feeling toward others, or accusations toward you, to detract from the main goals of making a difference.
Posting online is the lowest barrier of entry when it comes to any sort of activism. People with disabilities, those working multiple jobs, parents with young children, and others are limited in what ways they can contribute and we shouldn’t waste time debating whether or not someone's intentions are pure when they share their activism or political opinions.
The Action Funnel
If we are able to move beyond the unproductive use of our time in trying to determine whether or not someone is posting online for personal clout, we can see real value in where this action takes us. Imagine you see a friend post about an upcoming protest against police violence. You decide you have some time that day and want to go to see what it’s all about. At the protest you are introduced to local organizers who set up jail support; people who assist those arrested or recently released from jail with things such as transportation, communication, food or clothing. What you do from there is up to you, but the simple act of someone posting a protest announcement online got you to a point where you have the opportunity to directly impact your community.
Posting online can become an issue, regardless of the poster’s intentions, when it fails to lead down a funnel to eventual direct action; when the exposure to new information leads to paralysis. Effective action that goes beyond consumption can be educating yourself, informing others, or joining an organization that is making a difference.
When consuming what others share online, ask yourself how you can use the information to make a difference. On the other hand, if you choose to share information or your activism online, consider guiding others to a way they too can directly or indirectly help. In order to make change, we must use the tools at our disposal. Social media is undeniably a powerful tool to inform, educate, and spur people to action.
Posting online can be a powerful way to raise awareness around issues and help funnel people toward getting involved in working toward solutions. It is a quick way to disseminate information, but raising awareness does not inherently lead to change. Change comes from action. It comes from making the effort to understand the problems we face locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally. But reposting a post on your story and calling it a day will never lead to the change we seek to make. Utilize every tool in your tool belt to spread information and then do your part in working with others to make the impact you want.
Performance may seemingly be replacing real change as it is more visible, potentially leading to a belief that performance has substituted action. Those on the ground doing the work, however, aren’t prioritizing telling the world that the work is being done. Someone’s actions are not limited to what they share with others online; the infrequent Instagram story does not imply infrequent action. View information from those in online spaces in good-faith. Make an attempt to understand the information being shared, connect it to the systems that exist today which perpetuate the problems we face, and do something about it. No matter how small, incremental action is progress toward the type of world we want to live in.
It ultimately matters little what someone’s intentions are with what they share. How will you take action based on that information? What will you do to educate yourself on issues you discover through a post or story? That is what matters. That is how you can make a difference.