By: Jhazzarie Laurente, Junior College 1 Wisdom

Racism is known to be the prejudice and discrimination against people’s colour or race, but what if racism fell under the hands of social media? What would happen?

I believe that social media has made a positive effect towards the fight against racism as the various platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Tik-Tok, YouTube, and many more enable the users to create and share contents or to participate in social movements and online discussions with others on a wider or global scale. The phrase “positive effect” will be interpreted as the good and expected outcomes to improve the status of an ongoing situation/problem.

As social media platforms become more and more popular, many influencers have taken action and used these to inspire young people especially their followers to fight against racism. They post their views, their stand, and bravely speak their voices. However, as there have been positive effects on social media towards the fight against racism, there have also been misunderstandings towards the words they spread online. Some people using social media may misinterpret the issues on racism as each has different opinions and stands regarding this.

Famous influencers around the world create a great impact to others every time they share their views against racism. One famous celebrity, Ariana Grande, had posted a photo on Instagram of her joining the Black Lives Matter Movement and this has led many millennials to support her fight. Aside from her, there had also been other celebrities supporting the same movement such as Beyonce where she delivered a speech about her fight against racism and about her own experiences in overcoming prejudices to get to where she is today.  She has stated:

“You have arrived here in the middle of a global crisis, a racial pandemic and worldwide expression of outrage at the senseless killing of yet another unarmed black human being (referring to George Floyd) and you still made it. We’re so proud of you.”

Furthermore, people have not only been spreading the support through Instagram but also in other platforms by posting or uploading multiple short video clips, artworks, and quotes which have further spread the support to fight against racism. This inclusive action takes its further impact and spreads it towards the mainstream media reaching the attention of the national governments.

During the Miss Universe 2020, the Singaporean candidate walked towards the stage wearing her ‘Stop Asian Hate’ national costume. That video clip and the message on her costume had shown the world via social media and via national televisions worldwide her personal voice, representing the voices of other citizens fighting against racism towards Asians.

Moreover, according to CBS news, celebrities like BTS had also experienced being discriminated against for just because they are Asians. The group posted on Twitter:

“We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason. Our own experiences are inconsequential compared to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks. But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away at our self-esteem.”

Apart from this, they have also posted on twitter “#stopasianhate” as they felt “grief and anger” following the deadly attacks on Asian-Americans in New York and in other parts of the USA. The band, which is from South Korea, has offered their “deepest condolences” to the people who have lost their lives. They also opened up about the kind of racism they have experienced.

On the other hand, not all ideas posted on social media platforms may influence other people’s opinions towards the fight against racism happening at present. People are still divided by different views. There have been multiple cases of people commenting that they would not partake in these movements as they are also afraid to be ‘canceled’ or discriminated against through social media.

In addition, people and influencers who openly spread the word against racism must be careful in using their words. Whatever they say on social media may create a bigger conflict and their words can be taken against them. Personal opinions shared on social media may lead to miscommunication and more problems.

For instance, the case of Selena Gomez who according to Republicworld.com, a leaked audio tape from several years ago has shown how she had made a controversial statement regarding the Black Lives Matter movement. It was in the year 2016, when that audio tape captured her  controversial statement, mocking the said movement. This video has created uproars among the BLM movement supporters.

To end, after considering both sides, I believe that social media brings more positive impacts towards the fight against racism rather than the negative impacts as there has been a great influence created by many media personalities and artists inspiring other people to do good and not fall under the hands of racism. Moreover, we should learn how to use social media for its intended use, to share positive ideas and stories rather than destroying others.