Social media has been a game changer for many social justice movements. With growing tensions in many social circles ,awareness has been primarily raised through social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and even Tiktok. However, the opinions on the usage of social media for awareness and how effective it is varies heavily. Choosing to repost or post content with political undertones is a decision that is difficult to make.  

Examples of recent movements in which these media platforms played a significant role include Black Lives Matter, Muslims in Chinese Concentration Camps, LGBTQ + Rights, the #MeToo movement, and many more. 

Amidst the larger movements regarding social change and justice movements, the Commack community’s diversify your narrative branch was developed to speak on social issues through their Instagram page. A representative from the movement gave us their opinions on the use of social media and its influence.

Diversify our narrative intends to use social media to establish a curriculum in both humanities and STEM classes that promote anti-racist discussions and present the diverse perspectives of BIPOC(Black, Indigenous, People of Color). They also promote cultural competency and racial equality. The organization uses Instagram to help educate on issues such as race and equality regarding the perspectives of education that we are receiving. Infographics are used often because they convey the messages in a digestible way. 

“Social media can be very helpful for social justice issues because it’s a very good way to spread information quickly and to a lot of people,” said the representative from the Diversify Narrative Movement at Commack.

Yet the question of is posting important still remains because different people have different intentions with their feed.

“Not posting on social media doesn’t necessarily equate to not caring about a certain issue. Somebody can privately work towards aiding a specific issue without being public about it. […] You can still contribute to activist causes without sharing it on social media,” said the representative.

Many times people are putting in work through different areas and so not posting doesn’t invalidate all the work they are doing.

To those who do post on social media one of the factors that are important to consider is validity of the sources.

“If it’s from a large content creator with a large following and it’s from a trusted organization, then there’s a good chance the information is reliable,” said the representative. 

It is ideal, however, to do fact-checking by yourself. This can be as simple as conducting a Google search and looking up sources listed with infographics on platforms like Instagram.

Ways You Can Help

The Commack Community can support the Diversify Your Narrative initiative by signing the petition listed or by following their social media accounts (Instagram and Facebook) at @diversifyournarrativecommack. If anyone has any questions or wants to get involved, please feel free to contact them through DM on those platforms or via email at [email protected] 🔳

 Other ways to help include and are not limited to:

• Donating to help those in need
• Spreading and signing petitions
• Attending protests
• Educating others
• Going to and hosting meetings
• Forming your own social media accounts in support of social justice issues