In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement was propelled forward by a new form of mass media: television. Suddenly, Americans were able to see the racism ingrained in modern society in their own homes through the screens in front of them. In 2020, we are seeing the same type of public attention through the power of social media. With the ability to see news on a screen in the palm of our hands, it is no surprise that social media has sparked a major growth in awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement. This year in particular, we have witnessed an explosion of online campaigning as well as in-person protests.
The Black Lives Matter hashtag began in 2013, after the tragic and unjust death of Trayvon Martin at the hands of a police officer. Since then, the hashtag has been used extensively across numerous social media platforms, with the phrase used almost 30 million times on Twitter, streamed over 12 million times on TikTok, and tagged in over 25.8 million Instagram posts as of November 2020. There was a surge in social media posts in May this year after the death of George Floyd, culminating through protests all over the world.
The impact of social media on these protests is not to be underestimated. Protestors used the power of online communication to spread the word about mass gatherings in major cities, as the ease of retweeting or sharing a singular post can giveway for millions to witness this rise in social advocacy and join the global campaign for equality. While many used social media apps to advertise these protests, others used their platforms to spread online petitions — demanding justice for those wronged at the hands of police brutality. Videos of police brutality have gained major attention online throughout the year, which raises the question of what we might not have seen had someone not used these social media platforms to showcase these injustices.
Ultimately, it is clear that the power of social media in this new age of protesting has influenced the Black Lives Matter movement massively. The use of these online platforms has become symbolic of how activism has been reshaped by modern technology in our current society, as they have without a doubt become incredibly influential in spreading the message that these racial injustices cannot continue.
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Published November 28, 2020
Written by Rebecca Symns-Rowley ~ Edited by Fiona Xu and Alex Truong ~ Graphics created by Jessica Moerman
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