In recent years, there has been a significant in the number of people who use social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp. The advancement had been fuelled by the rapid development of technology that has made communication devices easily accessible and affordable in the society.
Social media is depicted on a global scale with millions of participants from different regions. The expansive nature of social media had the potential of revolutionizing social change by creating awareness in the community (Guzman, 2016). The possibility of social media to dictate a social change is evident through the emergence of the hashtag. The hashtag is a movement in social media which allows users to share personal experiences. The hashtag movement has been a useful awareness tool that has been used to showcase tourism destinations, talent, and injustices in the society. From the perspective of social injustice, social media had led to a united front against vices which has contributed to social change. The BringBackOurGirls hashtag in 2014 is an excellent example of international social media has been used to influence social change. The abduction of over two hundred schools girls in Nigeria contributed to the launch of the hashtag. Social awareness of the social injustice transformed into a global movement which piled pressure on administrative bodies to implement therapeutic strategies (Matfess, 2017).
Therefore, it is evident that social media can be used to influence social change as in the case of Nigeria. However, this realization had led to the exploitation of social media to cause violence and war. It is from this line of thought that social media users should be responsible for their content to safeguard a positive social change.
References
Guzman, A. (2016, April 7). 6 ways social media is changing the world. Retrieved from World Economic Forum: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/6-ways-social-media-is-changing-the-world/
Matfess, H. (2017, April 14). Three Years Later, A Look at the #BringBackOurGirls Catch-22. Retrieved from Daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/three-years-later-a-look-at-the-bringbackourgirls-catch-22
