Social media outlets such as Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat
allow more people to get involved with social movements by publicizing them.
Recently, there has been a boom of many social movements such as ‘Me Too,’ ‘Take a Knee’ and ‘Time’s Up.’ Many of these movements promote women’s rights and condemn sexual assault. Others focus on beliefs that are against the government.
As a result of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a new social movement is making a debut. This social movement is called ‘Never Again’ which is about students raising awareness and make changes to gun laws.
“I feel that movements are a better way for people to make their voices heard instead of just standing on the sidelines and one day saying something and it never be spoken about ever again,” said junior Tyler E.
Social movements have
been going on since the beginning of American history, starting with the
American Revolution.
“If you even look at American history, going back to the founding of our nation in 1776, you have this very large social movement that led to the independence of the United States from the British, the American Revolution. There’s no way I can capture them all, but you have movements to abolish slavery, the prohibition movement, the temperance movement, the Civil Rights movement and movements against the war in Vietnam. The early 20th century had movements to abolish child labor,” said assistant principal Michael Larson.
As of today, social
movements concerning gender equality and sexual harassment are becoming more
present in society. Most of these social movements started with just a single
hashtag and then grew in scope.
The ‘Me Too’ campaign encourages millions of women to speak out against sexual violence and harassment. The ‘Time’s Up’ movement evolved from the ‘Me Too’ campaign. While both shed light on women and the injustices done against them in their personal and professional lives, the ‘Time’s Up’ movement helps female victims of sexual assault.
“The ‘Time's Up’ movement has collected millions and millions of dollars to help fund lawsuits in favor of gender equality,” said Larson. “The ‘Me Too’ movement was more of these brave women coming out of the shadows and saying ‘I too have been treated poorly’ or ‘sexually harassed’ or ‘I’ve had this problem in my life.’”
Another social movement that has become popular in the modern-day era is the ‘Take a Knee’ movement. This movement consisted of people, specifically professional football players, kneeling during the National Anthem at sports games. In the summer of 2016, football player Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers began this movement.
After he began kneeling, NFL players, athletes and fans
began to take a knee or not stand during the National Anthem. Some students
similarly choose to not stand for the pledge.
“The reason I sit during the pledge is because I have an issue with the line ‘With Liberty and Justice for all’ because there is a racist attitude of America and if there was really liberty and justice for all [racism] wouldn’t exist,” said sophomore Ariana A. “I understand what [the troops] do and I respect their work but the issue I have has nothing to do with the military. [My issue] is with the government. The kneeling [during] the National Anthem was about the criminal justice system incarcerating more black people than white people.”
In Parkland, Florida, there was a school shooting where 17 people lost their lives on February 14. Emma Gonzalez (@Emma4Change) and students from the Parkland, Florida area, and around the world, are trying to implement stricter gun laws and trying to make schools safer in the United States.
Social movements have grown rapidly due to the popular use
of social media. Throughout the world, social media has taken a significant
role in society and has become an effective source for sharing news, opinions
and events all around the world.
In just two weeks after the shooting at Parkland, Gonzalez reached 1 million followers on Twitter. The account @NeverAgainMSD created by Marjory Stoneman Douglas junior Cameron Kasky reached 108,000 followers on Twitter.
A movement can be shared to the world through a post,
hashtag or a tweet. Social media is available on a global scale, so people in
different countries are able to see what these social movements are all about.
Award ceremonies, such as the Grammys, spread awareness for these social
movements.
“It seems like people are coming together [because of the increased usage] of social media and people are seeing and hearing things that they wouldn’t have. Otherwise, it is not just people in Commack but maybe they are seeing things that are happening around the world,” said human rights club adviser Derek Pope.
Not only is social
media making movements more widespread than in the past; it is making people
more aware of the world around them.
“We live in a society where we are becoming much more aware of our surroundings,” said sophomore Angel C. “Back in the day, no one really cared about others’ feelings. However, now I feel we are living in a time where we are becoming more aware of who everyone is and what everyone’s views are.”l
Izza M. and Elizabeth O.
Published March 2018