Student Activism in the Digital Age: How Social Media is Changing Advocacy

For decades, university students have been voicing their opinions on various issues. Perhaps you’ve heard stories about your grandparents protesting the violence of the Vietnam War or advocating for the Civil Rights Movement when they were our age. However, due to the heightened use of social media, especially amongst Generation Z, activism has taken on a new shape. Instead of holding signs and yelling through megaphones, we repost and retweet hashtags on platforms like Instagram, X and TikTok. 

This revolutionary form of activism first took shape in 2017 with the #MeToo movement. Originally started in 2006 by Tarana Burke, this movement sought to support survivors of sexual violence, especially women of color in marginalized communities. It wasn’t until social media usage increased that the movement went global as more survivors tweeted or reposted the #MeToo hashtag across social media.

Social media has changed the tone for activism. Activism in the digital age has become increasingly more accessible. This accessibility encourages students to get involved in causes that they care about. 

I  conducted a survey through Instagram to gather the opinions of student activists and social media users at USF. Students were asked, “On a scale from 1-10, how important do you think social media is when it comes to activism?” 79% reported an eight or higher. When asked about the value of social media in activism, first-year English major Jules Smith said, “I think social media can change a lot of things. It can make people pay attention to what is going on in the world. Social media can bring awareness to student protests, and it can make other people feel seen.” 

Additionally, when users were asked about their participation in activism, 100% of these students said that they had participated in some form of digital activism but only 5% reported participating in forms of in-person activism. 

Recently, discourse has been circulating about “performative activism” or, as some call it, “slacktivism.” These terms imply that “activity that uses the internet to support political or social causes does not need much effort.” 

The responses to the survey prove this concept in some ways. Though social media usage is a strategy of activism and is very accessible, it often discourages users from getting involved in the same causes at real life events for change. 

As seen in the survey itself, social media can be an effective tool for distributing information to a wide audience. Social media’s role in activism becomes controversial when it is the only form of activism that an individual partakes in. This is the point where activism becomes “slacktivism.” For instance, when the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum in 2020, many people posted a black square to their Instagram feed with the caption “#BlackLivesMatter” as part of the #BlackOutTuesday trend.

While the intention behind this was good natured, it did very little to actually help the cause. The online movement drowned out much of the existing information about how to get involved and put the focus on social media users instead. X user Anthony James Williams commented, “It is intentionally and unintentionally hiding critical information we are using on the ground and online.” 

Alongside the easy nature of digital activism, it brings a lot of potential for misinformation. Misinformation is defined as, “false or inaccurate information, especially that of which is deliberately intended to deceive.” Social media has an incredibly wide reach, which is a significant part of what makes its role in activism so important. This defining characteristic, however, also introduces potential for false information to go unchecked and spread like wildfire. You can’t believe everything you see on the internet, but it is still easy to fall into that trap, especially when it comes to current events and global issues. Not everyone is equipped with the nuanced critical thinking skills needed to decipher real versus fake, which can lead to the spread of misleading information surrounding activist causes. 

Using social media as a strategy of activism has many benefits. The appeal of its accessibility is tremendous since individuals may not feel comfortable speaking out in other ways. The influence of digital platforms can also reach a wide audience, making it easy and efficient to spread the word. At the same time, activism on social media has the capability to be harmful to serious causes when it is used as a tool to spread misinformation. In this digital age we find ourselves in, it is more important than ever to be able to use social media platforms as tools for productive activism while also recognizing the risks of such strategies.