In this day and age, social media is flooded with explicit, violent and provocative images, making social media a hellscape for anyone whose feed is politics-centred. I have fallen victim to this myself, spiralling into despair at the endless slew of triggering videos and images. This would appear to have desensitised the general public to such violence and brutality. It is fair to say that in the age of constant war and the genocide of Palestinians – and the images from these that are now so readily available – violence and conflict have become the twisted ‘norm’. 

The instant, short and attention-grabbing nature of Instagram infographics and social media story rants tends to give the impression of total education on a topic – but although these may make us a little bit wiser, they can be wildly inaccurate, biased or opinion rather than fact. This has horrific consequences for the creation and regurgitation of fake news, and the spread of fiction as fact.

Despite this, social media can improve awareness and visibility of a huge range of topics and issues. The big bonus of social media however is its accessibility- much greater than that of long-form news. Whereas long-form news can require a certain amount of knowledge around context, tabloid language, or simply knowing where to go, social media is incredibly easy to access, with most people of our generation having access to at least one social media platform. Its relevance is clear with the drive of political parties campaigning and having active channels on social media. These infographics, clips and links to resources are easy to digest and far less exhausting than physically watching the news and far easier to cope with for those who may be triggered by a certain event shown in the news.

There is still the issue of certain imagery existing online without context, and distributed without any trigger warnings. This can have a very harmful impact; especially when left unchecked and in an absence of accountability. One can witness a slew of posts romanticising mental health problems, promoting problematic behaviours and encouraging harmful acts. It is no secret that social media is often home to chatrooms of incels, fascists and others with harmful extremist views, and is used by these groups to organise attacks on marginalised groups. This has been a huge problem ever since the creation of social media, giving hateful people a community and by extension a feeling of justification in numbers – dragging many lost and vulnerable souls into this realm of hate and harm.

Every advancement in technology and society has, however, been riddled with negative side effects such as these. These side effects are nearly impossible to remove however, especially with the lack of regulation on certain sites, and the constant drive of companies such as meta for profit over ethics. 

Social media can also be key in harm reduction and education for good in these cases. Due to its accessibility, social media can prove a very simple and effective tool for spreading positive messages and educating people about the damages of extremism and the realities of the action they take.

It is inarguable that social media has increased our access and awareness of the news and current events, but it is not a one-stop-shop. Social media is great as a starting point for education and raising awareness, but to really understand an issue, further research is often required. To this end, social media is best followed by a dive into long form news from a variety of trusted and relatively unbiased sources. This process is most effective for developing a true understanding of an event, concept or anything else newsworthy.

Social media’s accessibility, however, can also decrease real life participation, with an emphasis on reshares rather than a physical presence at political events and demonstrations. Some people see others resharing a pointless piece of media, and instead of doing the work, simply voice their opinion and leave it there. We are all aware of a sheer number of people who reposted the black square for BLM and #blackouttuesday but never actually did any research, sign any petitions, or put any pressure on any organisation for positive change. It is essential to realise the importance of action beyond one’s online presence, and to note that real world action is still incredibly effective. Numbers can be much more effective and impressive when they are physical and visible, and are much better at inspiring others, and inspiring the change that needs to happen. 

Real world political activity also gives a much greater sense of community and meaning behind the action being taken than interactions on social media. You are able to see the faces and bodies who share your views and desire for a better world, making campaigning and political action far more satisfying. In person action feels like you are really making a difference. To this end, social media should be used as a tool for awareness, and to encourage people to attend real world political events, and make their opinions heard on a plane where it really matters. This is the key way to use social media to truly make a difference in the real world.

For me, the main takeaways of this debate are as follows. As great as social media can be, it is mostly effective for raising awareness and pushing people to act in the real world. However we are not necessarily seeing this at present – it has instead become a centre for superficial activism and an echo chamber for those only following accounts they explicitly agree with. 

Political action is, and must be, so much more than this – social media must be brought into real world discourse, action and demonstration. As long as this is pursued and advocated for, social media proves a key tool in organising and awareness.