@march), but the accounts that deserve a follow are the ones created by teenagers. Julia, a 17-year-old Asian-American girl from California, runs the account @activismgirl, which not only contains posts calling out systemic racism, the patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and ableism but also shares national and global news updates, petitions, and fundraisers for political campaigns and struggling marginalized individuals. Recently, she used her platform to sell stickers with a peach design and “flip the senate” logo to raise money for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossof, the democratic candidates in the Georgia senate runoffs. With 64.2 thousand followers, she’s educating many around the globe, people she wouldn’t have been able to inspire without social media’s expansive scope. Another notable account started by young people is @letterstomygeneration that, in their words, is “founded by GenZ for the Generations.” With a legislative campaign to get mental health education in schools, affordable therapy, and more comprehensive mental health services in Colorado, and by posting letters written by teenag-
ers who want to share their mental health journeys, the account seeks to end the stigma surrounding mental health and show other teenagers that they’re not alone.
A final note to make about the positive influence of social media on our society is that it has fostered an update of the “golden rule”: treat others how they want to be treated and with the respect all huGoing hand in hand mans deserve. People on with activism accounts to social media have become create an uplifting atmo- more conscious in the past sphere on social media, few months of what other posts about body positivity people have to deal with on and women empowerment and offline, growing empaare plentiful on people’s thy for those with different feeds, and for you pages. experiences. As a result, These videos show women accessibility has become posing in a way to look like a staple of posts on both the “ideal body type” and Instagram and TikTok. Capthen relaxing their bodies tions on videos and image to show that their bellies descriptions in both the are not actually flat and post’s caption and alt text that they have hip dips and are some ways by which stretch marks in order to people on social media are “normalize normal bodies.” thinking of those with visuSimilarly, there are a pleth- al impairments and hearing ora of videos telling view- loss. Additionally, cisgeners that they’re beautiful der people have helped as they are. A recent TikTok normalize putting one’s trend emphasizes solidar- pronouns in social media ity among women through bios, which not only lures girls posting videos of away transphobes from themselves dancing to the their innocent targets but song “Space Girl,” celebrat- also demonstrates how soing women of all body types, cial media has made peoethnicities, personalities, ple more considerate of and styles. Even though others. A world where peothe people posting these ple respect each other, love messages are all strangers, themselves, and advocate they have formed connec- for justice is attainable; the tions through shared inse- template for it is right there curities and support each on your phone. other in conquering their demons.
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