It seems like a few weeks ago almost everyone had some version of the “protect your daughter and educate your son” posted on their Instagram story.
The events that happened at Cornell in 2024 were beyond unacceptable. I can’t think of an extreme enough word to convey my own feelings about the alleged assault and the abysmal punishments to the men involved.
But when I swipe through everyone’s stories, seeing the same post one after the other, I’m reminded that social media’s design makes it easy to forget about horrifying events like these.
Enraged, we post something on our story, only for it to be replaced by a new issue in a week.
Don’t get me wrong — social media has a unique power to change minds. It was the resource for the #MeToo movement, #BlackLivesMatter and paved the way for protests, communication and mobilization leading to the Arab Spring rebellions.
But as rights and policies people fought so hard to secure through social media activism increasingly come under threat, I worry that the temporary nature of social media makes it difficult to sustain meaningful change.
Platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Youtube thrive on algorithms designed to make us feel extreme emotions, share our thoughts about them and then move on to something else.
How many of us posted about our faithful support to Ukraine on our story in 2022, only to have forgotten about it now? Or even if we haven’t forgotten, it seems that few people actually keep up with news about the war in Russia and Ukraine.
I’m not suggesting we all need to keep posting forever, but what’s the point of engaging in social media activism if our activism ends after the trend does?
It’s concerning to forget about major events and conflicts because my algorithm doesn’t recommend them to me. In some cases, this is because digital media companies suppress activism- related content on its algorithms.
I barely know anything about the civil war in Sudan that has displaced millions, the civil war in Myanmar or bloody conflicts in Ethiopia.
It’s ultimately my responsibility to educate myself in a nation where news is readily available on social media. According to Pew Research Center, 53% of people access news from social media.
It’s time to hold companies accountable for their algorithms, too.
The spread of information on social media is instant and endless, unparalleled to any news outlet we’ve ever had.
Yet it’s designed to keep us addicted by constantly shoving new videos, information and posts in our face. Activism shouldn’t be a trend and personally, I don’t want my Instagram algorithm to determine the news I know about or the news I care about.
As empowered as I feel when I see so many people showing their support against the alleged assaults at Cornell, our actions online won’t make a difference if we choose to stop caring about it.
Our social media algorithms will move on. Will we?
I’m challenging myself to keep reading in-depth reporting, following the case as it progresses and talking to my peers about it.
For the sake of every person out there impacted by sexual assault, violence or discrimination, don’t let this case be another trend that’s never followed up on.
It was quietly forgotten about once in 2024; we can’t let it happen again.
Comment Policy
Comments posted to The Brown and White website are reviewed by a moderator before being approved. Incendiary speech or harassing language, including comments targeted at individuals, may be deemed unacceptable and not published. Spam and other soliciting will also be declined.
The Brown and White also reserves the right to refuse the publication of entirely anonymous comments.