Often we hear about the perils of social media and the widespread of misinformation and hate. If you put a magnifying glass to anything you’ll find imperfections, wrinkles and cracks, but if you take a step back you might notice the good that is happening online.
When it comes to discussing the good that can arise of social media, the first example that I can think of is #NeverAgain. As a Parkland resident and an alum of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School this issue hits right at the heart. Since I was here for the entire event, I feel like I was part of, and witnessed a social media evolution being born in my own backyard.
You hear of tragedies happening around the world but you think, not me, not my school, not my safe town of Parkland. This enraged many us because we felt like if it could happen here it could happen anywhere and that is not okay, and it stops here. Hence, the #NeverAgain movement was born.
According to this video from the New York Times, #NeverAgain was different than many social media trending hashtags because it actually incited action. This movement leveraged social networks and in one week the #NeverAgain Twitter handle was verified with almost 100K followers. In a few days, the #NeverAgain team raised over 3 million dollars. They also sparked action beyond donations and tweets, such as organizing school walkouts, a trip to Florida’s capital, and the launch of a nationwide march, March For Our Lives. At these marches, they registered people to vote, and kept moving toward action. They even handled their own crisis control by responding directly to critics.
I recently read an article from the University of Florida that said, “Social media is a means, not an end. Awareness is a tactic, not a goal.” Awareness though can lead to action as we saw in the #NeverAgain movement. It can act as a catalyst and can move beyond awareness with a call to action. CTA’s such as call your congressmen, register for our march, donate to our cause, can all move an issue beyond the awareness stage. This article refers to social media awareness campaigns without a call to action as “slacktivism.” The thought and sentiment is there but there is no push for it to move forward with out CTAs.
The students who created the #NeverAgain movement received a lot of backlash, threats, and hate, but they also received a lot of support. No matter what you believe when it comes to gun control and laws, I think there is something to be said about the #NeverAgain movement. It gave a few teens in Parkland a platform and many of us in the community a purpose. Instead of just feeling sad, angry, and heartbroken, many of us were able to channel these thoughts into power and a uniting force.
