#scrolltosave?

Guys, I think we might be club snubbed...

Ah the internet... it's not just where we scroll—it’s where we exist. From calling out injustice to fueling trends, our digital lives don’t just reflect reality—they shape it. But being online isn’t enough. Digital citizenship means knowing the game: our rights, responsibilities, and the fact that platforms don’t just connect us—they control the conversation. They shape political engagement, amplify movements, and turn hashtags into rallying cries.

The question is: We’re louder than ever—but are we really being heard? 👻

Or are we just playing by the algorithm’s rules?😱

1. CTRL + Hustle: Clicktivism in Action?

_Hashtags: Raising Voices or Just Raising Eyebrows? 

Hashtag activism is the internet’s megaphone, rallying millions with a single click. Movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo have driven protests, influenced policies, and reshaped cultural conversations.

But but but but! Hear me out.

_Trending Today, Forgotten Tomorrow: Who’s Playing Who?

A viral moment isn’t always a revolution—it can just be digital theatre wrapped in pixels. Sure, social media can raise awareness at lightning speed, but keeping that momentum? That’s where things get messy.

As Cooper (2023) cites Muslic (2017):  "Social media is highly efficient at raising awareness as well as funds. However, the Internet is also incredibly fast-paced, so support for campaigns is usually short-lived.”

Sound familiar? One minute, your feed is flooded with activism, and the next, it’s back to cat memes and influencer drama. The algorithm moves on, and—let’s be real—so do most people.

_Click, Clout and Collapsed: The Internet’s 30-Minute Revolution

As you might have guessed, this does not go according to plan…

Before TikTok made activism trendy, there was Kony 2012—the campaign that turned a Ugandan warlord into the internet’s ultimate villain. It was the viral moment of 2012, with celebrities, influencers, and even your high school history teacher jumping on the bandwagon.

(Harris 2012)

(Hodgson 2012)

The result?

🚀 100 million views in six days.

The outcome?

🚫Not Kony’s arrest

…just a collective case of slacktivism burnout and the campaign’s leader having a very public meltdown. It was the ultimate reality check: the internet can make someone famous overnight, but justice? That’s a different story.

...

And nope, in case you were wondering—Joseph Kony was never arrested (#That Never Happened) Despite becoming the world’s most wanted man (at least online), he slipped through the cracks. The Ugandan military gave up the search in 2017, the U.S. packed its bags, and Kony? Well, he’s still out there, somewhere…He might have faded from our feeds, but reality? Not so much.

_Algorithm decides!

But not all movements get the same red carpet. Kony 2012 was pushed; #FreePalestine was punished. Activists face shadowbans, deletions, and content blocks. Turns out, platforms don’t just boost activism—they filter it. If the algorithm isn’t on your side… does your movement even stand a chance? But this wasn’t just a #FreePalestine problem—it was a system problem.

And someone saw this coming.

_The Internet’s Unbothered Prophet 

Meet Zeynep Tufekci - the internet’s only sane person. She didn’t just call it—she practically had a crystal ball. 

Tufekci tried to warn us, but did we listen? Nope. (We should have) She wasn’t just skeptical—she saw the design flaw in digital activism. Platforms don’t just amplify voices; they engineer movements for engagement. The system thrives on outrage, not outcomes. And guess what? The algorithm always wins. 

Virality isn’t victory. A video trends, we tear up, smash the share button, and think we’re dismantling war crimes from our dorm rooms.

…Can we do better?

2. #PaveTheWay: From Tweets to Streets

_Viral with a Vengeance: Finally, We Grew a Backbone

Not all hashtag activism is performative noise. Some movements bridge the gap between digital and real-world action. Enter #NiUnaMenos.

Born in Argentina in 2015, #NiUnaMenos (“Not One Less”) started as a viral feminist movement against gender-based violence. It evolved into real-world protests, pushed for legal reforms, and led to stronger anti-gender violence laws.

Similarly, the #GeorgeFloyd protests also kept the fire going - it turned a viral video into a global uprising, forcing a reckoning on police brutality and racial justice—proving that hashtag activism CAN work, and in fact, it’s a powerful tool…

...Just make sure the internet doesn’t move on before the “real-life” work is done.

Final Thoughts: Beyond the Scrolling, Screaming and Sharing

A tweet can trend. A movement can shake things up. But real change? That takes more than 280 characters. The fight doesn’t stop when the algorithm moves on—The question is, will you?

References:

Basu, M 2012, ‘As criticism surfaces, “KONY 2012” gains momentum faster than Susan Boyle’, CNN, viewed 15 February 2025, .

Cooper, K 2023, The Effectiveness of Online Activism: Who it is Effective For, What Issues it is Effective For, and What Time Period it is Effective For, Thesis, University at Albany, State University of New York, p. 17, viewed .

Harris, P 2012, ‘Kony 2012 organisers plan massive day of action across US cities’, The Guardian, viewed .