Introduction
Activism: A means through which change, justice, or progress is enacted over time, accompanied by some measure of personal investment or growth by the individuals who are involved.
Our growing obsession with social media has created many things wonderful and terrible alike. However, when considering the relationship between social media and activism, the line between the two starts to blur. How can we see past the shiny surface of pseudo-activism to detangle the messes that it creates? How can we truly engage ourselves in activist practices that make a real difference? In this hyper-essay, I hope to examine how social media, specifically the phenomenon of viral uplift, has transformed the traditional brand of activism. As consumers and creators on the Internet, it is our responsibility to investigate the content that affects our lives on a daily basis, in order to be smarter members of both the cyber and real-world communities.