Environmentalism in the Digital Age

By Cailin Reedy

The advent of social media has increased communication between the average person and the wider outside world. With applications such as Facebook, Twitter and Yik Yak, people can easily (and sometimes anonymously) voice their thoughts to huge numbers of people. The reach of the average person has been increased exponentially.

But while a singular unknown Twitter user’s observations might reach hundreds or even thousands of people because of sharing and re-tweeting, other issues have arisen. On social media, one popular method of practicing activism has arisen. Its roots lie in the sharing, re-tweeting and “liking” community on places like Twitter and Facebook.

The rationalization goes like this: Increasing awareness is on the same level as actually doing something physically to aid the effort. In some ways, it could be, especially if the mission is to spread information and change opinions. But for a mission that relies on people doing something to make a change, sharing something on social media most likely won’t do much.

However, while social media activism may present the problem that people only like, share or re-tweet, it also means that ideas are reaching more people more quickly. Sabrina Khan-Ibarra, a writer for the Huffington Post, insists that social media is an important tool in an activist’s arsenal. Without social media, Khan-Ibarra argues, the common person wouldn’t have a chance to speak out when large news outlets refuse to cover an issue.

In environmentalism, this kind of grassroots activism comes into the spotlight in response to big things. It has to be timely for people to care, like a big tree being cut down or a new, devastating law being passed. But people will rally around social media. It’s a new form of rallying and protesting, not physically but in the digital realm.