Nothing bonds millennials together like a brand new photo filter.
Over the course of the week, Facebook has been flooded with blue, white, and red overlays on thousands of profile pictures in an attempt to honor the lives lost in Paris.
The idea of social media capitalizing on a global event as major as the terrorist attacks is not a far stretch of the imagination, but the satisfaction that users get from such meaningless expressions of “activism” is nothing less than baffling.
In what way is a jazzed-up picture supposed to do anything of value for the memory of the victims and the current struggles of survivors?
Sure, it may be comforting to see a visual representation of support across a social media platform as massive as Facebook, but a few thousand photo updates aren’t going to make the world any safer.
A few thousand photo updates aren’t going to generate donations for reconstructing homes and lives, and a few thousand photo updates definitely aren’t going to do anything to dissuade terrorists from continuing to bring nations across the globe into crises.
And, as much as Facebook users may not want to admit it, there are far more problems in this world than just what happened in Paris. Does each French victim deserve coverage, love, respect, and action? Without a shadow of a doubt, yes they do. But the victims of attacks in Nigeria, Kenya, and Syria do, too.
They just have to figure out a way to command attention without fancy filters coming to their aid. They have to fight against the social construction that any global citizen can only focus on one given story at a time. They have to fight against web-based social justice warriors that pat themselves on the back for posting a symbolic picture with a hashtag and BrainyQuote-sourced reference about perseverance.
They already have so much to fight for. How can we justify silencing them by drowning out their voices on one of the only mediums available to get their stories to the public?
What the world needs most in moments like these is for people to step away from social media and get onto the streets, into the papers and towards the people that actually need help.
If you changed your profile picture and went to find ways to donate to affected families or help the city recover, I don’t begrudge you and won’t fight you if you want to say you’re active in the movement.
But if you changed your picture, smiled at the aesthetic it provided your timeline, and walked away with no further action, keep your name out of any conversation of help.
Don’t think you’ve contributed or done anything worth recognition. Take the virtual thumbs-ups from fellow users standing in solidarity with the victims, sit back down, and stay behind your screen as actual activists do the work you try and associate yourself with.