Performative Activism and its Effect on Political Apathy

by Sarah Bridgeman, Waubonsie Valley High School

I was told from a young age not to trust everything I see on the Internet. Of course, as a precocious and arrogant child, this statement seemed obvious to me. Amidst perusing the Internet at a young age, I could easily pick out the work of tabloids. Of course some cure-all from a foreign country was a false advertisement. I knew better than to trust the National Enquirer as a source of information. A quick look at the caption of an article cover told me that the advertisement was sponsored rather than credible work created by the host website. But as I continued into my adolescence, I began to realize that perhaps it was not the miracle pills advertised on the Internet that adults were referring to when they warned of the lies the Internet told. Perhaps they were referring to the keen ability of those we know personally to deceive on the Internet.

I take to Instagram to consume much of my information. I am not particularly proud of this choice, but with the amount of time I spend on the app, it is inevitable. I consume world news, celebrity gossip, and a lot of drama regarding popular TikTokers. However, in the constant stream of information appearing before me, I have begun to notice a new sub-genre of information among the posts I view daily: activism posts, created by activism accounts (accounts creating posts addressing popular social issues, such as mental health awareness or the BLM movement). These accounts wisely manipulate their posts in such a way that it appeals to teenagers and, therefore, many Instagram users. They make their posts “aesthetic” so that a teenage or young adult user would be more inclined to repost it to their story. And they do. Hundreds of the accounts I follow, many being my peers, choose to repost them, often the same one, to their Instagram story.

After viewing these posts repeatedly, I began to wonder to myself: Are these posts truly having a positive effect on the issues they are fighting for? Amid writing this essay, I took to Instagram to find a prime example. I found a graphic created by an account whose sole focus seems to be creating aesthetically pleasing posts with generic phrases regarding social issues. A particular one I found said “basic human rights for all is not radical.” Okay, yes. I agree with this statement. I would be concerned to find someone who does not. But, alas, I am confused. What effect is this post going to have on those who do find this statement disagreeable or contrary to their beliefs? It will surely never reach their happy corner of the Internet. Social media caters to your views and ideas, so its algorithm would hardly display something you disagree with strongly. So, if it is probably not going to convince anyone’s mind to change, then why create this post?

Teenagers can stress how strongly they are passionate about a subject all they want, but if the entirety of their “support” for the issue is a repost (not even an original post) on Instagram, I cannot allow myself to believe they are a devout ally to the cause. It takes no less than a couple of clicks to repost. Surely they will feel content with themselves but will they actually have a lasting effect on the cause? I hardly believe that those directly affected by the issue are strongly benefitted by their repost of the aforementioned aesthetic Instagram post. These posts deceive, putting on the facade of being “woke” and “educated”, but I feel rather certain that many of the users reposting the graphics are not extremely well-versed in the subject they project to their followers.

There are a multitude of ways to help social issues: participating in protests and rallies, raising money for organizations, or having productive discussions with those who do not fall into your set of beliefs. The last choice hits home for me particularly, and probably for many of those reading. JSA uniquely creates a space to discuss popular issues and gain knowledge on other perspectives. One of the reasons I love this organization so much is because it is a solution to this increasing issue of a false sense of efficacy. Along with these other solutions, I would like to propose the underrated option of just educating yourself. It is understandable that many do not have money or time to donate to the causes they are passionate about. So, instead of showing others that you are dedicated to this cause and telling them to be educated, you should take the time to educate yourself and find how you can help others directly. The only effect of these posts is a boost in reputation to your followers. Instead of worrying about your outward appearance and the education of your followers, take it upon yourself to educate yourself in the subject you want to advocate. Once you feel entirely educated about the subject, maybe just then you can begin to spread the topic to others and tell them why they should also fight for the cause (just not via another aesthetic Instagram post). Simply put, before becoming concerned with educating your followers, make sure you are educated first. These ineffective posts plaguing social media fuel political apathy, something that we must collectively take a stand against. They allow us to believe that we are having an effect upon the cause, when we are hardly having any. Political apathy could lead to our downfall and its solution is as simple as educating yourself.