It’s no secret that Gen Z has become one of the most progressive generations in history. Through the rapid rise of social media, young adults have become aware of the social and political issues around them in ways we’ve never seen before. By using platforms like TikTok, it’s become increasingly simple to spread awareness about certain social injustices. Through the usage of popular hashtags such as ‘Me Too’ or ‘Black Lives Matter,’ TikTok users have undeniably become key players in the success of these insanely important movements. However, even considering the crucial role that social media plays in progressing our society, the true motives behind these movements have gotten lost in translation. Instead of prioritizing the betterment of society, we’ve unfortunately reached a point in time where performative ‘support’ of causes has become just another way to achieve TikTok traction.
Let’s face it: social media has manipulated activism into just another strategy to go viral. Gone are the days of influencers supporting causes out of the goodness of their hearts. Nowadays, this ‘activism’ we see preached about online is just a shortcut to fame. Unfortunately, influencers post about these movements not to create change, but to boost traffic to their accounts. Time and time again, we’ve seen influencers making aesthetic videos at protests, making heartfelt videos to rebound after being caught in scandals, doing unrelated TikTok dances under hashtags designed to spread awareness for certain movements, and even using these causes as a marketing strategy to promote their music. Some influencers went as far as to fake their involvement in these movements, editing themselves into protest footage and blatantly lying about their efforts to support certain causes. And, to top it all off, the majority of these overnight activists routinely neglect to acknowledge any of these movements after they lose traction in the mainstream media. Apparently, it’s incredibly hard for some influencers to comprehend that these movements are started to combat real life issues, not to become TikTok challenges.
This kind of performative activism is not only unbelievably disrespectful, but also incredibly harmful. Using these types of influencers as the faces of movements shifts the focus away from people who are genuinely working towards making a difference in our society. Instead of amplifying the voices of those affected and acknowledging the people working on the front lines to support them, we rave about the TikTokers who took three seconds to change their profile pictures to the Hunger Games logo (which yes, is an act genuinely seen as one of the most brave and daring showcases of rebellion nowadays.)
Now, all of this isn’t to say that spreading awareness through social media isn’t an effective form of activism. When used correctly, social media can be a wonderful tool to raise awareness. But real activism isn’t driven by a desire for likes and followers. It’s about taking action, even when nobody’s watching. If influencers ‘care’ enough to post about social injustices, they should be willing to support these causes offline. At the end of the day, the question is: do you really care about bettering our society, or do you just want a viral video under your belt?