We raise storms in teacups. Protests on social media have become a fashion. Are we ready to take responsibility and act to set the wrongs right instead of being naive, asks Enakshi? An exclusive for Different Truths.

As I woke up on a sunny morning and picked up my phone to check the news, I found that a dark cloud of black had engulfed the entire social media. Every other person had posted a black image. Upon reading and researching further, I discovered that it was a way to protest against inequality. George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American, was accused of using a counterfeit $20 note in a local shop. It was reported that he resisted the police using physical force. Consequently, the police office named Derek Chauvin kneeled on Geroge’s neck for more than seven minutes, making him gasp for breath. George was later pronounced dead in the hospital. The heinous act of murder reeked of injustice meted out to the black people. But what I could not understand was the effectiveness of posting black pictures on social media. To present it as a symbol of ‘standing together in the fight’ is fine but to believe that changing profile pictures or flooding the internet with a black picture will change the mindset of the ones who are behind all this chaos, is naive!

The heinous act of murder reeked of injustice meted out to the black people. But what I could not understand was the effectiveness of posting black pictures on social media. To present it as a symbol of ‘standing together in the fight’ is fine but to believe that changing profile pictures or flooding the internet with a black picture will change the mindset of the ones who are behind all this chaos, is naive!

This is not the first time such a thing has happened. Just recently, when a pregnant elephant was fed a pineapple filled with crackers in Kerala, people took to social media to disapprove the action. Even Ratan Tata expressed his disapproval of the action and when such big shot people speak their mind, the pressure on the authorities increases. They become obliged to take serious action. The problem is not with social media being used as a medium of protest; the problem is about how it is being used. How much of an impact do you think changing the profile picture would have? Most of the times people aren’t even aware of the cause they are supporting. I have proof of this. Several of my contacts on WhatsApp had changed their display picture to black. Upon asking the reason, all they had to say was ‘Everyone is doing it’ or ‘It’s trending’.  Is this called awareness? Don’t you think if you had posted a message about the same, it would have still made an impact?

Do you remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? The purpose of that challenge was definitely not to test your endurance skills. That challenge was put up to spread awareness of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The feeling that you get when a bucketful of ice water is poured on your head — the muscle stiffness — is what the patients feel. Empathy was the catch. The idea was to make more and more people empathise with the condition of the ALS patients and then donate out of goodwill. How did most people understand the campaign? They just focused on the part which said challenge and nothing further.

The feeling that you get when a bucketful of ice water is poured on your head –– the muscle stiffness –– is what the patients feel. Empathy was the catch. The idea was to make more and more people empathise with the condition of the ALS patients and then donate out of goodwill. How did most people understand the campaign? They just focused on the part which said challenge and nothing further.

Do you remember the Nirbhaya Case of 2012, India? The internet was flooded with

black pictures that intended to protest against the rape culture of our society. The flame of this spirit was extinguished a few days later when the case became old and when people had to resume their work. Did posting the pictures help in combating rapes in any way? No. It didn’t. It won’t now as well. Using social media to rant or show your annoyance is acceptable. However, using social media to showcase that you support a cause and that you are making a contribution to the protest by changing your profile picture is lame.

People have become lazy. They like being the armchair critics and still be a part of a campaign via social media. By putting up a rainbow picture and saying that you support LGBTQ community or by putting up a black picture and saying that you want the injustice in the world to end is like wishing for a Mango tree when you have sown nothing but have just watered the soil! It is like living in a fool’s paradise and believing that things will go back to normal on their own. Do we even realize that the wrong that is happening today is because of our own doing? The root cause of every problem is mankind and when mankind decides to take a back seat and wishes for the problems to cease, it is a situation that can put anyone to shame.

Changing or putting up pictures is not going to solve problems. The leaders of the past did not sit in their homes and vouch for freedom by changing their profile pictures. They were out there. They were present to protest rather than be a mute witness. Not all of us might be able to go out and protest. Some can.

Changing or putting up pictures is not going to solve problems. The leaders of the past did not sit in their homes and vouch for freedom by changing their profile pictures. They were out there. They were present to protest rather than be a mute witness. Not all of us might be able to go out and protest. Some can. Instead of using social media to show how we all are in this together, we should rather use media to spread the message of love and kindness. Writers, singers and all other artists can do their bit by spreading the message and not just stopping at posting a picture.

Photo from the Internet