Facebook: Not So Social Anymore

When I first started planning this post I was very much going to argue that Facebook was aging, and aging poorly. It is a platform that at first sight has everything in one place and takes the posts from Twitter, the photos from Instagram and the live videos from Snapchat and combines them in one feed. This on paper, seems to be a way to get all of the best from social media in one place, yet instead, often results in a messy and overwhelming stream of content. Leading to many users engaging in a more active way through these other social media platforms that Facebook has integrated.

Audiences often prefer to post original content on more specialised social media platforms. Photos now go on Instagram seconds after they were taken, and funny happenings are instantly shared on Twitter with friends. But when researching I came across the idea that perhaps the reason people are now showing a preference to socialise on platforms other than Facebook, is because Facebook is no longer a social media platform.

Social Media Apps by Flikr user Jason Howie, CC by 2.0

Facebook has always been the most iconic social media platform, it took over Myspaces place in the online world in 2004 and has quickly grown to be a digital platform for engagement in a different league from all of its predecessors. Facebooks 2016 statistics showcase that its popularity is still unquestioned . According to the CNBC facebook has on average over 1.79 billion monthly active users this is more than ‘WhatsApp (500 million), Twitter (284 million) and Instagram (200 million)—combined’. Facebook is statistically the biggest social network, but taking a closer look will reveal that although people are using Facebook regularly, they are engaging with the platform differently. Facebooks primary use isn’t as a social platform anymore.

Facebook has known its down coming for a while, and they have tried several different techniques to restore the site to its former glory. This is visible with the introduction of the ‘react’ options to posts. These were intended to give users a new and more authentic way to interact with online content, as they could express more that just a ‘like’ but could show they were saddened, excited, shocked or infuriated at what they were seeing online. They have also changed the language of the status box to, ‘Whats on your mind?’, a question that is set to encourage users to post more statuses and share more about their personal lives via Facebook. The dwindling user generated content is potentially due to the platforms formidable size. The thought behind this break down of intimacy is that with the platform becoming so exponentially large, and people having friend lists that consist less of actual real world friends and more of people they met briefly, users are less inclined to share personal information and their lives with hundreds and hundreds of strangers.

so how does a website that has known struggles of user produced original content have statistics this strong?

Simple, adaption.

Facebook has has taken this trend into account and has begun its transition into something beyond a social media platform. Facebooks trending topics and hashtag features have made it now a commonly used source of news and current affairs for users. In fact, 40% of US adults get their news from Facebook through the trending topics section. Facebook is also a huge supplier of entertainment and games, and provides users with a feed of advertisements, stories, multimedia,  forums, and even an online buy and sell marketplace that align with their personal interests. Facebook provides its users with what has been dubbed as ‘a personalised portal to the online world’. Facebook has become more than a social media platform, it is often a persons first stop when online, and it is from the facebook provided links that people often begin their internet browsing.

So I wasn’t entirely incorrect, Facebook is beginning to show its age. But it is far from becoming obsolete, it is growing and developing to in a very sophisticated way that ensures it will continue to hold a firm bookmark in billions of peoples browsers.

LGBT Activism In the Digital Age

 

It is hard to make concrete claims about the impact that digital media will have on the LGBT rights movement as both the movement and digital media will constantly be changing and progressing. But there are several points of discussion that will make or break the effectiveness of using digital media to advance the LGBT rights movement.

Public Domain Image by  Sebastian Doori, accessed Jan 12 2017

The online world has a huge opportunity to create communities. These communities can encourage individuals to stand up for their own rights during everyday activities and protest against the small acts of discrimination and hate speech that LGBT people encounter. Having an online community of like minded people all working towards a single goal has the ability to give each and every single member a sense support and the confidence required to speak up for themselves.

The online community can help individuals accept that they deserve respect despite what misinformation outsiders may perpetuate, and helps to create a solid support network that some may have difficulty finding in their local community. These communities can also play an important part in helping individuals accept who they are, and show these people, that in this world, where this is very little positive LGBT representation, they can be happy. These communities also show LGBT people as complex humans where sexuality is not the most prominent feature of their personality.

It is also important to note that online content very rarely gets ‘stumbled upon’ by accident. There is such a vast amount of information online that usually it has to be searched for in order to be found. So logically, it is usually individuals who are already somewhat actively engaged in the LGBT rights movement offline that join activist movements online. In some ways this is beneficial as it means that the members of online groups are engaged and active in the movement, however it also means that it can be difficult to get outside attention and grow activist communities. 

Some people question as to whether a digital media presence alone can create awareness and evoke progression in LGBT rights or is it simply the development of a groundwork that can then be used strategically to spread reliable information and from there, result in social changes. This is always going to be a highly debatable question. We have seen LGBT rights become a trending topic and there is no doubt that having people place pride flag water marks over their Facebook profile pictures has amped up the visibility of LGBT supporters and given the rights movement a substantial boost in momentum. But months after these watermarks disappeared, there is still little real world preogression.

However, engagement with the LGBT digital activist movement is a huge deciding factor in the effectiveness of moving activism online. In order to create lasting change it is important that individuals challenge the bigoted views that they may hold and are educated on LGBT facts and the challenges that these people face. This can be done through sharing sources of information and content of high quality that aims to engage audiences and leads to an open discussion in the comments. It is only through correcting people’s beliefs in a way that causes them to change how they go about their own everyday lives that will result in real world benefits for LGBT people.

Avoiding slactivism is key if digital media is to make a meaningful difference in the LGBT rights movement and in the lives of LGBT people.

There is no doubt that digital activism can be used as a highly valuable tool to create lasting change in the LGBT rights movement. But like all tools, it must be used appropriately and strategically to have a real world impact on what is at core, peoples lives.