“I stand in solidarity with all my black friends against discrimination based on colour, #BlackLivesMatter,” tweeted Shubham (fictional name), and after posting the screenshot on Instagram and WhatsApp, quickly snuggled up in his bed waiting for another thing to trend to jump on the bandwagon.
Activism has not only been reduced to being selective these days but has also limited itself to social media only. I won’t be surprised if a man tweets against domestic violence and his family members re-tweet it, while her wife works in the kitchen all scarred not just from the physical abuse ensued on her a few minutes ago but also by the hypocrisy of her spouse and in-laws.
While the world is more aware right now and people are coming forward to stand against various social evils, the intent to turn Nelson’s eye on one issue while showing unwavering support to another is becoming more common today than ever. Blaming social media for it wouldn’t be fair as it just lets us express ourselves better by giving easy access to the world.
Yes, we started using hashtags to express our solidarity, and it does give us a sense of contributing to the movement but my mind is still cynical about the same. Sometimes, I feel that someone out there saw a huge potential in social media of driving millions of people and cutting across the borders, and thus decided to bring movements on social media platforms just to get more reach and helping ensure that the authorities cannot contain the movement easily.
It worked eventually. Now people can easily masquerade behind tweets and status while ensconced in their plush, oversized chair instead of flocking on the streets… But their digital footprints from the past haunt them every now and then.
Recently, Bollywood celebrities like Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor were called out for their decision to speak on George Floyd’s case but not for the Indian Muslims or migrant workers. I don’t want to talk about the advertisements for the ‘fairness’ creams because that has been exposed a long time ago.
There are people on social media platforms who believe in the potential of these digital movements, and rightly so as it has done wonders when it comes to bringing those things into the light which were earlier not ‘newsworthy’ (as per mainstream media), and I have no intention of repudiating the same. However, these social changes and movements need to reflect more at the ground level as the victims of these social evils are seldom alive to re-tweet or like your statement of solidarity.