{"id":15507,"date":"2016-04-22T15:51:31","date_gmt":"2016-04-22T15:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/?p=15507"},"modified":"2016-04-22T15:52:01","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T15:52:01","slug":"hashtag-activism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/hashtag-activism","title":{"rendered":"Does Hashtag Activism Really Accomplish Anything?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"a6b39195b99473d6c9dd698db2668010\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:2px 0 2px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<center>\r\n\r\n<script type='text\/javascript'>\r\nfunction ShorterThan(widthMax) {\r\n                if (screen.width < widthMax) {return true;}  \r\n                else {return false}\r\n    }\r\nvar LimitWidth = 728\r\nvar MobileZoneID = 348996\r\nvar DesktopZoneID = 348995   \r\n<!--\/\/<![CDATA[\r\n   document.MAX_ct0 ='';\r\n   var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?':'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?');\r\n   var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999);\r\n   document.write (\"<scr\"+\"ipt type='text\/javascript' src='\"+m3_u);\r\n   if (ShorterThan(LimitWidth)) {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+MobileZoneID);} else {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+DesktopZoneID);}\r\n   document.write(\"&nodis=1\");\r\n   document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r);\r\n   if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write (\"&exclude=\" + document.MAX_used);\r\n   document.write (document.charset ? '&charset='+document.charset : (document.characterSet ? '&charset='+document.characterSet : ''));\r\n   document.write (\"&loc=\" + escape(window.location));\r\n   if (document.referrer) document.write (\"&referer=\" + escape(document.referrer));\r\n   if (document.context) document.write (\"&context=\" + escape(document.context));\r\n   if ((typeof(document.MAX_ct0) != 'undefined') && (document.MAX_ct0.substring(0,4) == 'http')) {\r\n       document.write (\"&ct0=\" + escape(document.MAX_ct0));\r\n   }\r\n   if (document.mmm_fo) document.write (\"&mmm_fo=1\");\r\n   document.write (\"'><\/scr\"+\"ipt>\");\r\n\/\/]]>--><\/script>\r\n<\/center>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you are on any social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or Instagram, you have probably come across hashtag activism. Hashtag activism is when social media users create and use a hashtag to raise awareness about an important issue. Notable examples include #BringBackOurGirls, #BlackLivesMatter, #whyIstayed, and #IfIWasGunnedDown. Do these hashtags actually have an impact on the issues? Many believe that it is just a way for people to prove to their friends that they care and feel like they are contributing\u00a0when in reality nothing is being accomplished.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Raising awareness<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Social media networks connect people all over the world. And using hashtags helps to link people even more. There are times when a country\u2019s mainstream media outlets and government refuse\u00a0to report on certain issues. Since it is difficult for governments to censor the Internet, citizens can go around the mainstream media and share their stories with the world directly. The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag began because Nigerians wanted to put more international pressure on the Nigerian government to find the missing Chibok girls. And it did succeed at that. Even First Lady Michelle Obama was involved in the campaign. The kidnapping occurred on April 14th and the hashtag reached its prime on May 5th. Once the news was trending in the U.S., the nation\u2019s government took action just one week later. U.S. surveillance planes started flying missions over remote areas of Nigeria searching for the girls. <\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15508\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15508\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/michelle-obama-bringbackourgirls-1.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/michelle-obama-bringbackourgirls-1.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/michelle-obama-bringbackourgirls-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/michelle-obama-bringbackourgirls-1-85x57.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15508\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rack.0.mshcdn.com\/media\/ZgkyMDE0LzA1LzA4L2FlL01pY2hlbGxlT2JhLjc1NDBlLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4NjI3IwplCWpwZw\/3bb16de1\/a64\/MichelleObamaBringBackOurGirls.jpg\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>The Internet\u2019s short attention span<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the problems with hashtags is that they will eventually stop trending. Social media users can have short attention spans at times. What is trending at one moment can be old news within a matter\u00a0of hours. Huffington Post journalist Celia Buckman said that regarding #BringBackOurGirls:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong> \u201cIt appeared that this hashtag activism was working, until the tragic nature of the hashtag took hold: it became a fad. These girls have still not returned home. But it appears that social media has forgotten them.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15509\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15509\" style=\"width: 721px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-15509\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/14428694342_bd2dc976f0_b.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"721\" height=\"481\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/14428694342_bd2dc976f0_b.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/14428694342_bd2dc976f0_b-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/14428694342_bd2dc976f0_b-85x57.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 721px) 100vw, 721px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15509\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/c1.staticflickr.com\/3\/2932\/14428694342_bd2dc976f0_b.jpg\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>It takes more than a retweet<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Unfortunately, awareness does not always translate into action. This is most evident with the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. Despite the hashtag raising awareness internationally, none of the girls has been found. The situation is just as dire as it was when the hashtag was trending, and social media users seem to have lost interest. #BringBackOurGirls was one of the biggest hashtag campaigns, and yet it still ultimately failed. What went wrong? Sociologist Michael Flood said that:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong> \u201cReal reform requires sustained, long-term commitment\u2026\u201d \u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He added that social media has no \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">personal responsibility and concrete plans for action,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d which is why social media campaigns can be ineffective.<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While hashtag activism can be a great aid for raising awareness, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cit takes more than a retweet&#8230;to change the world.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15510\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15510\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15510\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/hashtag-card-640x428.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/hashtag-card-640x428.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/hashtag-card-640x428-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/hashtag-card-640x428-85x57.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15510\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.makeuseof.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/hashtag-card-640x428.jpg?2047b0\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/social-media-banning\">SEE ALSO: What\u2019s Behind Banning Social Media In Some African Countries ?<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you are on any social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or Instagram, you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":15509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Does Hashtag Activism Really Accomplish Anything?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is it just a way for people feel like they are contributing when in reality nothing is being accomplished?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/hashtag-activism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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