Instagram Activism in a Time of Crisis
Header: Maya Hochberg
This article references an ongoing political conflict solely for contextual purposes. Any such reference is intended to be entirely nonpartisan, as MUSE Magazine maintains an apolitical organization. We emphasize that this article serves as a personal account of the impacts of social media. Our intent is to provide a neutral space and we appreciate our readers' understanding of this distinction.
When Instagram launched in 2010, it was the perfect synergy of photography, technology, and community; a home to the picture-perfect, the overly-filtered, the highlight reel. The app’s early days were about sharing special moments with friends. Instagram’s inception was, presumably, apolitical, but today, the platform’s purpose has largely shifted. Instagram activism, otherwise known as ‘slacktivism’, refers to raising awareness of social issues through Instagram’s interface, creating visually-appealing infographics to paint the picture of a pertinent issue. Following the murder of George Floyd in June 2020, protests fighting for anti-racism erupted across the US and beyond. Being in the midst of COVID-19, many could not physically participate in these demonstrations, and took to social media to express their solidarity with Black communities across the world. Here, Instagram activism was born, changing the face of the app and setting precedent for social justice discourse to follow.
Instagram activism is classically portrayed in the popular account “so you want the truth about,” whose ten-slide, digestible graphics explain complexities ranging from abortion laws, racial inequality, capital punishment, and more. Posts list additional resources and action items, with the intention of propelling viewers to further their interest in a topic outside of the Instagram app. You will learn about social justice against a light-coloured background and read jarring statistics in a playful, artistic font. Accessible in its content and pleasing to the eye - that is how Instagram activism often presents itself.
However, there are issues that should not be aestheticized, and should not rely on Instagram activism to convey their complexity, nuance, and factual backbone; can one really walk away from a carousel of infographics knowing the truth if it contains years of history, precedent, and social complexity? Here lies the danger of your story repost: inappropriate glamorization and amplified oversimplification.
At the time of this writing, a gruesome war is taking place in Israel. The weight of these events rests heavy on my Jewish community and many, many others. Being geographically removed from the conflict, yet feeling immense grief over what is happening to my nation, I rely on the media to relay the tragedies that unfold. This has welcomed an absolute content overload; a flood of graphics, scarring accounts of terrorism, and notes-app prose pledging allegiance to the Jewish community. Instagram activism has taken center stage once again; just like in other recent periods of social unrest, it has become a battleground, with Canva-made infographics being inescapable weaponry.
When your heart aches and your stomach turns over a globally horrific situation, social media can be an accessible way to feel involved, to do what you can. Using your platform - no matter the size - to stand against hate is critical. In many ways, Instagram activism is a stage, a community, and a helpful tool to stand against relevant issues. It can be a vessel to demonstrate support and uplift voices and stories.
In some cases, however, social media can be salt in a wound. At the end of the day, what compels someone to repost a graphic can have nothing to do with their commitment to meaningful allyship. Social justice today operates on a binary of good-guys and bad-guys. When a visually appealing graphic attempts to tell you who the good-guys are, you feel driven to repost, so as to avoid any misconceptions that you support the “wrong” side. Of course, people very often have genuine knowledge and care for an issue, and choose to use their platform to express that. But when your feed is flooded with these posts, it can form your perception of the opinions of those around you - who’s reposted a pledge of support translates to ‘who cares about me and my community?’; who’s failed to do so shows who can’t be bothered, or worse, who disagrees with the fight being fought. You will never truly know the intention behind someone else’s click of the like or repost button, yet when emotions are heightened in the face of conflict, you can almost see the whole picture. Certainly, these perceptions can only exacerbate today’s binary of social justice.
And then, comes the plague of misinformation. Today, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and more are adept with fact-checking capabilities, and users can report cases of misinformation for further investigation. However, this does not halt instances where cherry-picked facts convey a false narrative on a nuanced situation. A graphic fit for Instagram simply does not have room to outline the multiple perspectives often required to understand issues of social justice. Yet, that very graphic creates an impression surrounding a topic that followers will use to form opinions. Amplifying these can truly harm or offend a community who is hurting, and I have seen floods of this over the past week.
If anything, Instagram activism serves as a display of solidarity - not knowledge. It will never be the be-all and end-all of meaningful change. Today’s world parades itself online. I urge you to remember that there is a world around your explore page - one that needs your support more than ever. I have been routinely signing in-and-out of my Instagram account when this week’s content has gotten too loud. Remember that you can look away and protect your mental health; Instagram is not going anywhere, nor is it truly moving things forward.
The content you interact with amplifies pieces of information in ways you may not imagine, affecting communities in ways you may not intend to. You must understand what you are reposting and reflect on why you feel the need to repost it. If you have a social media account, you have a platform. Your activism is not depicted by how many clicks it takes to get through your Instagram story; it is committing to having the difficult conversations offline, and supporting communities in their fight and their grief. For those who are hurting at this time, words make worlds. Your voice is loud no matter how you choose to use it. I can only hope it’s for the better.
