#BlackLivesMatter Was Not Meant for Yesterday’s #BlackOutTuesday Posts
Why people are urging others to take down their black square posts with #blacklivesmatter.
Social media is a tool that can influence the world. We have seen that time and time again with the spreading of knowledge and ideas through social media. These platforms allow people to share photos, videos, articles, thoughts, opinions, on any and all subjects. It really is the best place to get educated about current situations.
However, many people do not understand how social media works and the purpose of #hashtags. Yesterday was a prime example of how a movement was tainted because of lack of information.
#hashtags act as an archive of information. When you post to social media and you #hashtag that post, each platform will take that post and group it with other posts that have the same #hashtag. With all the protests going on and the incredible photos and videos coming from it, people have been #hashtagging #blacklivesmatter. This has been a source of education for people who go to the social media platforms. When they click on the #blacklivesmatter, they see articles, photos, videos, personal experiences, it creates a picture of education for the person looking at that #hashtag.
Yesterday was #blackouttuesday. The goal was to not post about yourself or experiences happening that were not related to the current movement. Millions of people participated in this social media trend by posting a simple black square. Many posted the square correctly with the #hashtag #blackouttuesday. As stated above when people click on that #hashtag they will see all the black out Tuesday posts and see the influential movement of black square posts that took place yesterday.
With those posts, many people also included #blacklivesmatter. This morning we woke up too many celebrities and influential people who yesterday, posted the black square with the #blacklivesmatter, are now asking people to take them down. These celebrities and influential people were educated on how #hashtags work and how yesterday this tainted the movement of #blacklivesmatter.
Currently, when you get on social media and you click on #blacklivesmatter, you see yesterday’s black square posts. Many without explanation, or personal thoughts and opinions. For those going to #blacklivesmatter looking to be educated, looking for personal experiences, they now see a string of black square posts with no true meaning behind them.
While yesterday it was incredible to see millions come together on social media to support such an important movement. The education piece through social media is tainted with no real information anymore. This is why many are asking people to remove their posts with the #blacklivesmatter. They are doing this to keep the education piece alive and allow people to see and view real experiences, photos, articles, from clicking on the #blacklivesmatter vs just seeing the black squares.
This movement is something that needs to be documented, talked about, and constantly referred too. The social media platforms allow us to contribute to the archive of history. It is important to understand how your post contributes to that piece in time. Using it correctly and #hashtagging posts appropriately is how we can educate the world on the basic human rights that are not being afforded to black people.
