Abstract

Social media plays a large role within the structure and customs of today’s society. Since the late 90’s social media has steadily grown into a well-known concept. People have grown bolder with its use and have allowed social media and other Web 2.0 platforms to intergrate themselves within our everyday lives. This is extremely important when it comes to how individuals within today’s society interact with each other in person and online. This paper aims to raise awareness and questions on the effects of social media. So far, we have seen a rise in social movements which are helping to tackle some of the world’s biggest human rights violations. Movements such as the LGBTQIA+ and women’s rights, such as the protests within Iran, have been provided a platform to lean on through social media. We have seen a rise in awareness of these issues and action due to the easy promotion tools Web 2.0 platforms provide.

Conference Paper

While the notion of social media is a well-known concept to most of today’s society, many individuals do not realise the impact Web 2.0 has had on today’s society and the social changes surrounding it. Social media is all around us and often hard to escape these days. Despite this, the concept is hard to define due to little agreement as to what exactly it means. However, Rasmussen Neal (2015) theorises that both the phrase ‘social media’ and ‘Web 2.0’ “refer to the many easy-to-use services that anyone can use to interact with other people online” (p. 24). Through these interactions social media has enabled society to tackle some of the worlds biggest human rights violations such as womens and LGBTQIA+ rights. Social media has enabled people to raise awareness and make changes within today’s society. For example, news feeds such as Twitter and Facebook have enabled a rise in awareness for the protests in Iran regarding womens rights. Other Web 2.0 platforms such as Instagram have also allowed for society to tackle and raise awareness for the LQBTQIA+ movements, along with the women’s rights movements. Social media services have enabled people to better connect with others online and through this enabled society to begin tackling some of the worlds biggest human rights violations.

 

Since its creation social media has always played a role in politics. With people stating who they should or shouldn’t support. Lately however, social media has been playing a major role in the protests within Iran. The movement started with the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year old woman, who on the 16^th September 2022, passed away after being arrested for “allegedly violating Iran’s strict rules requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf” (BBC NEWS, 2022, para. 3). The first protests took place after Ms Amini’s funeral, where women removed their headscarves in solidarity. Many reports say that this demonstration of equality is more widespread than any of the similar protests that came before. This in part, can be said is due to social media. Without the platforms as a base to help spread information, these protests would be less accessible to the public and therefore would not gather as much attention. In a show of support towards the movement many “schoolgirls have also been demonstrating in playgrounds and on the streets” (BBC NEWS, 2022, para. 9), removing their hijab or publicly cutting their hair as acts of protest. “Men and teenage boys have also participated in large numbers and backed the women’s demands” (BBS NEWS, 2022, para. 10). Social media is helping humanity tackle some of the world’s biggest human rights violations, and this is one of them. Protests such as these have happened before. For example, when millions of people protested after the disputed presidential election in 2009. However, this was limited to the major cities and led by the middle class. In 2017 and 2019, economic hardship generated nationwide protest. But these occurred in mostly working-class areas. “For the first time, protests involve people from all sections of society and age groups and have spread across dozens of cities and towns” (BBC NEWS, 2022, para. 18). Social media in part is to blame for this. The easy-to-use services provided have enabled individuals to spread knowledge and awareness to other parts of the globe that previously, would have known nothing. These news feeds have enabled individuals not just from Iran but all over the world to have a voice and protest along with the women and children in Iran. Social media has allowed activists to band together with people in London, America and other parts of the world shaving their heads at a rally as a show of support for the women in Iran fighting against this violation of their human rights.

 

While the topic of LGBTIA+ rights has been an ongoing one, with the help of social media the movement has gained traction with news being able to spread faster than ever before. Pain (2002) describes social media sites as “networked publics, where an imagined collective emerges because of the intersection of people, technology, and practice… for social, cultural, and civic purposes, and they help people connect with world beyond their close friends and family” (p. 1). Since the beginning of time LGBTQIA+ individuals have been discriminated against. With social media the gap in equality of an individual’s rights has diminished. The marginalized groups within the LGBTQIA+ community have received more social acceptance due to the exposure through social media and web 2.0 platforms such as Instagram. “The internet and digital technologies have facilitated a development of connectivity that has created important nodes of identification, belonging, and support” (Pain, 2022, p. 1). Social media has led to recent global changes through more inclusive advertising campaigns, allowing for more identity, representation, and empowerment (Pain, 2022, p. 2). Social media is ultimately not about the technology itself, but the connections between people (Rasmussen Neal, 2015, p. 25). These exchanges can be extremely meaningful and can sometimes be life changing. For the LGBTQIA+ community, social media has altered their lives drastically. The platforms have enabled for major growth within the acceptance movement. Web 2.0 has given societies individuals a voice and a platform to stand on in order to spread awareness and advocacy towards equality for all people. “This notion of connection is further explored in the Philippines’ political youth movements, detailing how UP Babaylan maximizes Facebook and Twitter as spaces that push for the social acceptability of LGBTQIA+ by anchoring their platforms’ discourses on the central principle of human rights” (Pain, 2022, p. 4). Social media has shone a light on the subject of acceptance and equality, provided a platform for individuals with voices that need to be heard and enabled for communities and movements based on equality to grow and spread.

 

Women’s rights movements have existed since the early 1800’s. However, recently there has been a major progression and positive change. This can be linked back to the effects of social media. As theorized before, social media can be described as “the many easy-to-use services that anyone can use to interact with other people online” (Rasmussen Neal, 2015, p. 24). These interactions can lead to communities developing through the use of the communication tools provided. Tassie et al. (2015) suggest that “computer-mediated communication before the rise of social media focused on the potential of web-based communication to minimize or equalize status and power differentials, where disenfranchised groups, such as women, could be liberated from their overlooked or stigmatized status” (p. 1). It is obvious that this theory has come to pass with female usage of the internet now surpassing those of male. “77% of women, compared to 66% of men are using Facebook” (Tassie et al. 2015, p. 1). Communities based on an equal future for both genders have developed as a result of the creation of web 2.0 platforms. Movements such as the #MeToo campaign, Tell Your Story, #LetAfghanGirlsLearn campaign, and the #FreeHerFace campaign are some of these. Many of these movements first started through their promotion on social media. These movements create a community of solidarity and understanding, with the platforms allowing for women within the community to be able to share their testimonies of harassment and sexual assault. “Since the early 2000s, digital activism has been creating its own space through the different existing platforms” (Sarrats, 2022, p. 336). The most popular platforms often used by members of these campaigns are both Facebook and Twitter. These platforms are based around communication; therefore, they provide the ability to communicate “news, information and for mobilizing activism both online and offline for several women’s rights movements” (Sarrats, 2022, p. 336). Through this, social media is helping us tackle some of the world’s biggest human rights violations. Women are changing the way the world is run by “challenging the regional and national sphere by speaking out” (Sarrats, 2022, p. 336). The 2017 #MeToo movement involved female voices from around the globe empowering women and encouraging them to speak out through the social platforms we are constantly surrounded by. However sometimes these movements are short lived and tend to fade from the public eye after the initial shock has subsided. Activists do not let this affect them though. Feminist activists continue to push towards a better future through the utilization of social media outlets. Feminist activism through social media “has provide the possibility of engaging and creating a network of feminists from all over the globe, who can mobilise and practice solidarity” (Sarrats, 2022, p. 338).

 

While social media has enabled many communities the chance to have a voice and create a difference, some feel that certain movements are taking away the spotlight from other more important ones. There is a growing indignance from the women’s rights activists towards the members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Many feel that due to the growing popularity and widespread community of the LQBTQIA+ movement that it is subtracting much needed attention away from the women’s rights activism groups. However, social media is a vast concept with room for many different communities at once. The impact social media has on the greater community is huge. “The range of transgender experiences are evolving in response to increased knowledge and understanding of what it means to be transgender or gender non-conforming in contemporary society” (Austin & Goodman, 2016, p. 125). If activisim groups begin to turn on one another then society as a whole will not make any progress and we will regress back to our old ways of thinking, excluding those from marginalized groups. The growing fueds between activisim groups has led to more individuals within society becoming transphobic. This is the exact opposite effect that the LBTQIA+ activists are trying to achieve through their campaigns. However, when thought about deeply both movements are essentially fighting for the same thing. To stop violence against marginalized communities and have equal rights. Both groups are just trying to have the right to asylum, freedom from violence and discrimination at work, and the right to health, including services for sexual, reproductive, and mental health. (“Human Rights Watch,” 2023, para. 8). However, if activist groups begin to turn on each other the consequences “may complicate pathways to wellbeing and self-acceptance for individuals” (Austin & Goodman, 2016, p. 828) within the community. This can lead to internalized transphobic stigmas. However, inernalised transphobic stigmas remain a notably understudied area. Social media and Web 2.0 platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are a place for all to share their expressions. However, if communities begin to marginalise groups such as the Womens rights campaign and the LGBTQIA+ movements continue to show dissent for one another then we will stop seeing the progress these communities have worked so hard to achieve.

 

Social media is an integral part of today’s society. It influences our everyday lives often without us even realizing it. It impacts on the way we think, feel, and even what we eat. Due to this, it has become the foundation in which many human rights movements stand. Utilising the platforms to their fullest potential by using features such as the hashtag to spread information faster more easily, the Web 2.0 platforms have not only changed the way we go about our daily lives but have assisted in helping society develop as a whole. Through helping us tackle some of the worlds biggest human rights violations, social media and Web 2.0 platforms are assisting activism groups slowly create a better future for everyone. These easy-to-use services have enabled society to tackle some of the worlds biggest human rights violations. It has enabled communities to raise awareness towards unfair treatment. News feed based platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have enabeled movements such as the women’s rights movements, #MeToo and #LetAfghanGirlsLearn, provided a platfrom for the LGBTQIA+ community to voice their rights and has enabled the protests within Iran to gain much needed support from all around the globe. Even though some activists from certain movements feel that they need to compete with others for attention, they are all working towards the same end goal. To stop violence against marginalized communities, Social media is an integral part to making this vision possible in the future.

 

Reference List

Austin, A., & Goodman, R. (2017). The Impact of Social Connectedness and Internalized Transphobic Stigma on Self-Esteem Among Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Adults. Journal of Homosexuality, 64(6), 825-841. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.1236587

 

BBC NEWS. (2022). Iran: A really simple guide to the protests. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63240911

 

Human Rights Watch. (2023). “This Is Why We Became Activists” Violence Against Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women and Non-Binary People. https://www.hrw.org/report/2023/02/14/why-we-became-activists/violence-against-lesbian-bisexual-and-queer-women-and-non

 

Pain, P. (2022). LGBTQ Digital Cultures: A Global Perspective (1^st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/97810

 

Rasmussen Neal, D. (2012). Social Media for Academics: A Practical Guide. Elsevier Science & Technology. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=1574976

 

Sarrats, M., F. (2022). The Role of Social Media in the Fight for Women’s Rights. IEMed Mediterranean Yearbook 2022. https://www.iemed.org/publication/the-role-of-social-media-in-the-fight-for-womens-rights/

 

Tassie, K., E., Harris, A., A., Givens, S., M., B., Alaoui, F., Z., C., Basnet, M., Coleman, R., R., M., Chan, B., H., Charmaraman, L., & Gun, C. (2015). Women of Colour and Social Media Multitasking: Blogs, Timelines, Feeds, and Community. Lexington Books. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=4086555#

 

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Social Media has helped society tackle some of the worlds biggest human rights violations