WHAT ARE WE ?

It's a sunny day and you're scrolling through Twitter, even though you probably should be outside but you're not because, let's be honest, you're procrastinating from your IB homework.

You see the page of trending hashtags, some being absolutely ridiculous like #Kanye2020 

However, you're also seeing tons of other hashtags that you may have never heard of before. But since they're trending, they have to have had enough attention from social media to be considered a "popular hashtag."

You start scrolling through and notice that you've heard some of these before, whether you recognize them from your Instagram, Facebook, or your MySpace, if you're still doing that. 

And as the years go on, different hashtags will flash before your eyes. 

#ALSIceBucketChallenge

#PrayForParis

#kony2012

#bringbackourgirls

#freekesha

#HappyBirthdayHarryStyles

Whatever the hashtag is, they all have a purpose. 

If we start with the #ALSIceBucketChallenge, its purpose was to spread the information of the disease around and to raise money. For #PrayForParis, the hashtag showed the world's support to the city of Paris as we continually found out more information about the event. #bringbackourgirls and #kony2012 were very similar, in the way that these "trending" hashtags are a way for the world to show our support and attention to the situation.

But does that make us #activists or #slacktivists?

Activism: the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change.

Slacktivism: giving token support for a cause, like wearing a pin or “liking” something on Facebook, without being willing to engage in more meaningful support, like donating time or money. And with the presence of social media, being a slacktivist is easier now than ever.  

Do you have to do more than retweet to be actively involved in a hashtag or viral idea? If you sign an online petition, are you being an activist for putting your opinion forward into making a change or are you still a slacktivist for not taking a risk and doing it from the comfort of your own home? 

Everyone has different opinions and different takes on it. 

Personally, before the #ALSIceBucketChallenge became popular, did I have any idea what the disease was? 

No, I had no clue.

But after doing the challenge, I knew so much more about the disease and the information surrounding the cause.

The exact same thing applies to the hashtag #kony2012. I distinctly remember being in my grade 7 classroom and seeing the poster of KONY 2012 being everywhere. Even though I was young and kind of naive, my teacher made sure that we all knew what was going on.

She got the word out to us and emphasized the importance of it, even when we were 12. Does that count as activism for being an active member who was spreading the information out? Or is that slacktivism, for not making a personal risk or making a change?

The same applies to #bringbackourgirls. Even though I couldn't do much, it affected me to know about it and I felt involved and personally invested in what happened to them. 

But with these hashtags, specifically with things like #kony2012 and #bringbackourgirls, I did feel like I had a connection because I was emotionally invested. But some might say that's not enough. 

However, in my opinion, the whole point of a hashtag is to get information out or spread the word. 

Whether you are retweeting one tweet or doing something to actively make a significant change, I believe that spreading the word in any way makes a difference. 

And you can always do more and less, but in some way, you are contributing.

And that's why there is no distinct line of slackitivism vs. activism. 

In any way, you're going to be spreading the word and that's what the point is. The purpose and reason we're able to show our support as a community is by having these hashtags go viral and having this information readily available to us. 

The reason we're able to give our support and resources is because, as a world, the media and even things as simple as a hashtag have allowed for us to be connected. In Langley, British Columbia, we can find out things that are happening on other continents in a matter of seconds.

The fact that we can do this with a hashtag like #PrayForParis and #BringBackOurGirls is incredible and the point of these hashtags is to get support and to get the word out.

So if you're spreading the word, then you're being an activist.