Technology has provided us with unlimited access throughout the global crisis of 2020 and 2021 to what is happening in the world and social media became one of the primary ways to spread awareness during lockdowns and most often it was used for good. We’ve never before seen an age where content can be share so quickly through social media and reach people globally so quickly. Many have used this as a platform to share positive messages and support like we saw in the #metoo movement or Black Lives Matter, it was used to raise environmental awareness about climate change and we’ve seen amazing content to support LGBTQ+ communities. It is a growing way to market products, build brand loyalty and connect people globally with shared experiences or causes they want to support and it is simply done through a hashtag. I think there will much more to come in the #world as it has become the fastest way to connect people with just a simple hashtag and has led to a whole new movement of social activism.
Great video to understand and use hashtags.
Great post Asha. Hashtags will allow people to follow topics easily and trends/movements will begin based on hashtags. The concern with hashtags is the spread of misinformation, disinformation or malinformation. The distinction in the terms are defined in the following [How Twitter Spreads Misinformation]: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/07/06/how-misinformation-spreads-on-twitter/
Though there have been significant movements that have brought a change in society, when not used correctly, it can be damaging. For example, the US elections, vaccines, pandemic information, and race-related issues have hashtags that spread misinformation. Therefore, some social media platforms will disable hashtags depending on the political or social climate. For instance, the following article discusses how hashtags were disabled during the 2020 US elections in social media to reduce the spread of real-time misinformation [Instagram will disable a feature that could be used to sow election misinformation]: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/29/instagram-disables-recent-hashtag-tab-to-reduce-election-misinfo.html
I think this is an important point to consider when thinking about hashtags, how do we control the integrity and truth of the message? I think misinformation is very powerful and is often used strategically so there is the potential to do great harm and also to be aware of the influences and motivations of the person creating the hashtag. I think like everything else in the digital world, the access is both a wonderful tool but also a dangerous one in the wrong hands.
As you referenced there are so many good stories/causes that originate within social media, and are amplified because of these platforms. Unfortunately, the same is true for misinformation or cyber-bullying. Without cyber policing and the sheer number of platforms, I suppose we have to take the good with the bad.
I agree with you Sam, I also think that often we don’t have the correct information about the origin of the hashtags which eliminates the importance of the person starting the movement or who is raising the awareness, I doubt very many people could tell you the names of the people who started the hashtag movements I listed in the clipart. I think this goes with the misinformation and cyberbullying as it removes the personal piece or direct connection to a person and allows people to remain anonymous which is a key factor to cyber-bullying.