Image: Kristina Alexanderson via Flickr
For all the criticism it receives, the internet really isn’t all that bad. The countless banks of knowledge from sites like Wikipedia means that there are few things one can’t learn about in the space of two minutes. It’s changing the world in many ways. Free education sites like Khan Academy and Coursera are closing the gap between the educated and the uneducated, even while traditional institutions remains elitist. Web-based activism and vigilante groups like Anonymous are pioneering a new form of social justice that addresses the governmental roots of the problem. Families split across the globe can keep in touch at the click of a button, projecting their voices and images to each other in real time. In short, the internet is bringing the world closer, and this is crucially important in many ways.
Perhaps one should begin with the example of the Black Lives Matter movement. Spaces for protest for people of colour have long been lacking, but from one Facebook post following the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin, Black Lives Matter was born. According to The Guardian, there are now more than 26 Black Lives Matter chapters across the United States. This doesn’t take into consideration the involvement of people across the world online. Even Barack Obama has addressed the movement. Black Lives Matter is the re-ignition of a civil rights movement much-needed in the US and across the world. If not for the internet, and for social media in particular, the voices of those activists might not reach others in the wider world to create a global movement based on community and affinity.
Other rights movements have gained ground on social media, too. Most notable is that of feminism. Many proclaim that the cause has entered its ‘fourth wave’ on social media. The internet has opened up a platform for feminists of all political persuasions to discuss and dispute each other’s beliefs. While this has led to a widening gulf between different feminist groups – trans-inclusive and trans-exclusive feminists, for example – it has, on the whole, provided a platform for women to join a movement that might not exist in their own local communities. It has brought women together against sexism in a way that could not be done without social media, and this is shown in the smallest of things. A post written in complaint about an unwanted interaction with a man will receive empathetic likes, words of condolence and expressions of anger. The average woman with access to the internet is no longer alone: social media-based feminist groups become a safe haven for those who need them. The same can be said for all minority groups, whether of race, religion, gender, sexuality, or other identity.
Ultimately, this is about safe spaces. Away from social media, websites dedicated to the care of trans people, for example, provide support for those seeking advice on anything from surgery and health to law and employment. Every day, more articles are published worldwide in support of minority movements not represented in their own communities. If one cannot find support from their school, home or government, they can pursue it in many forms online. They can, in fact, find whole groups of people seeking that same support.
As a whole, the internet cannot be unified by its users. The millions surfing the web every day are too diverse in identity, politics, religious belief and morals to be able to form one cohesive whole. But perhaps this is a benefit. We should not seek to find a platform that unites us all, because that platform would quash individual identities and take the spirit out of the web. Rather, the internet provides community across the world to those who need it – to those who cannot find it at home, in their town, or even in their country – every day.
Originally published on The Global Panorama.
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