How Technology has Affected the Spread of Social Issues

Freshman year I took a class during which the professor criticized our generation for not standing up for what we believe in. He would say "my generation and my parents generation, organized sit-ins and parades, and all you people do is like something on Facebook," or something to that extent. That really bothered me. Just because he couldn't physically see people standing up for social justice doesn't mean that those people didn't exist. The integration of technology into our daily lives has shifted the war front from the streets to the webpages.

Over the summer, there was a worldwide campaign to raise awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s Disease through the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. I was shocked at how many people were bothered simply by the fact that videos filled up their Facebook and Instagram newsfeeds. So many others just missed the point of the videos. This movement was meant to awaken people to the struggles of the disease and what is required of the people who have it to perform daily activities. Articles were tainting the effectiveness of the challenge and calling those who did it attention-seeking. Since July 29th, the ALS Association has received 115 million dollars in donations. That’s a 3,500 percent increase from the 2.8 million dollars that the Association raised during the same time period last year. What was the difference? Utilization of technology and social media. Even singers, athletes, actors, and businesspeople got involved, along with the 3 million other everyday people. You may say the Ice Bucket Challenge was stupid, but the numbers don’t lie. This isn’t the first time technology and social media has accelerated fundraising. In 2004, it only took one year for Livestrong to raise 50 million dollars with its yellow bracelet cancer-awareness campaign.

Ferguson, Missouri used to be and, in some circles, still is a hot topic of social injustice and controversy. With so many news and media outlets, it is difficult to discern the whole truth; however, the truth is inevitably out there already. Regrettably, I neglect to keep up with the news and current events, but my interest in the Ferguson issue was peaked and maintained on social media. Through Facebook posts and tweets from people on the ground in Ferguson, I was able to piece together what I think really happened, which I admit could be fully wrong. Without all of these outlets, my only source of information would be from the news stations, which I think we can all agree have some degree of bias and slanted information. The constantly updated information about situations in real time from Ferguson is something that we didn’t use to have. Technology and social media have given social justice fighters an opening to speak their mind and have thousands of people hear them. They have spread awareness faster than ever before. They give people online access to other people with similar or dissimilar opinions, so they can meet up and then organize something physical or try to convince others to see things their way.

I agree – our generation does not organize as many revolutionary events you read about in history books as previous generations. We still participate in similar events such as Pride Marches and Relays for Life, but the real influence occurs online, where people can spread awareness and demand change for issues that affect our society.