Perfectly Imperfect

Social media gets more of a bad rap than it deserves.

It’s easy to villainize social media. The facts aren’t on its side. Social media has been blamed for many negative things – detrimental mental health effects and cyberbullying, just to name a few. In the end, we become pessimistic and hypocritical social media haters that continue who use the platforms as a means to complain about the platforms. 

But focusing solely on the negative aspect takes our eyes off the positive aspects, and the good things that have happened as a result of social media becoming ingrained in how society communicates today. People have reconnected with old acquaintances and family members from far away using these platforms. I’ve never heard people find a reason to complain about that.

Malcolm Gladwell, as great an author and researcher as he is, is just partially wrong when it comes to his stance on the topic. I’ve long admired Gladwell’s work, especially after reading his book, Outliers. But his 2010 article for The New Yorker threw me in for a loop. Gladwell basically suggested that social media doesn’t lead to true heroic displays of activism. “Facebook activism succeeds,” Gladwell wrote, “not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things that people do when they are not motivated enough to make a real sacrifice.”

I wouldn’t Gladwell completely wrong – running a social media campaign isn’t the same as inciting a political revolution. But just because social media doesn’t result in deep advocacy doesn’t mean advocacy doesn’t happen on social media: it just doesn’t look the way you think it should. Are we to ignore good just because we think it isn’t good enough?

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which happened just over a decade ago in 2014, raised $115 million dollars – all driven by funny videos of people dumping ice buckets on themselves. The impact of the campaign continues to be felt today, as documented in a press release from the ALS.

In Gladwell’s view, the ice bucket challenge isn’t real activism. Taking a cold shower to raise money for a good cause is great, even though it isn’t as heroic and standing up to racists. I don’t think anyone is suggesting that the two are comparable.

But the ice bucket challenge is still a solid case study in how social media can be used for good, no matter what kind of good it is – and that shouldn’t necessarily be discounted.