Social media got a groovy outdoor look! It’s the very same as before, but now activism is at play!

……..I bet you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about.

If you’re not familiar with what I am referencing, this may be confusing at first. Those words and title were a play on a 1967 Barbie Ad for the Twist ‘N Turn Barbie. The sound of the audio got very popular on TikTok, to the point of trending multiple times.

Like Barbie, social media is still new and different. And right now, we are at a time when social media activism is on the rise. If you want to understand what social media activism is and how it’s used, then maybe a good introduction is what you need!

A New Groovy Outdoor Look: Social Media Activism Definition

Like Barbie, activism evolves over time. We exist in the current age of social media, and many common activism techniques like protests, boycotts, petitions, and word-of-mouth are adapting to how social media functions. As a result, activism has gone viral.

When we see social media activism online, what we witness are called social movements. Social media activism creates social movements. There are many definitions, but the one that stands out to me the most is Bart Cammaerts definition in his paper, ” Social media and Activism:

A social movement is a social process through which collective actors articulate their interests, voice grievances and critiques, and propose solutions to identified problems by engaging in a variety of collective actions.

To clarify, when Cammaerts says “actors,” he means people. Now we know what social media activism creates, but what can social movements do?

Twist and Turn: Social Media Activism is Complex

Social media activism and social movements act as a twist and turn of sorts, as they have both upsides and downsides. We see how much social media impacts society in Dhiraj Murthy’s Introduction to Social Media, Activism, and Organizations. He explains that social media activism is extremely complex, and often can change your opinion depending on how you look at such activism.

For example, one of the major conflicts is how social media activism causes change for social movements. Murthy mentions points like how valuable social media is for recruitment, public engagement, and campaign organization. But this is a double-edged sword.

Social media activism can also cause issues like slacktivism. This term refers to how social media activism lacks strong connections and causes low effort change through liking, sharing, and hashtags. It’s small but not strong.

The Advertisement Worked Well, and Social Media Activism Will Too.

While social media can be complex, there is no denying how much good it’s done. Tenley Jackson actually wrote a great article on why social media activism is necessary for modern change in young adults. He mentions multiple social movements like Black Lives Matter, MeToo, and The Ice Bucket Challenge that have done well as a result of social media.

We don’t know what would have happened if social media hadn’t been there for these social movements. But at least for me and many others, there was a good change because of social media activism. People participated. People wanted changed. And it happened.

Social media activism will be alright. And hey, look at this way. Barbie started small, too. It is now one of the most toy brands of all time. What is stopping social media activism from doing the same?