Can Tweeting Predict Increased Expression of Solidarity With Refugees?

Social media has taken the teenage generation by storm, and most if not all North American teens are on twitter. Social media is commonly associated with ranting and meme’s, but everyone once in a while an event can be significant enough that a hashtag is made about it. Slacktivism is the term used for people who hashtag about important causes, like the refugee crisis, but do nothing more to help those in need. Is hashtagging your concerns enough?

It turns out that yes, slacktivism does have a positive effect on awareness of important political topics. Researchers Smith, McGarty, and Thomas explored the world of online political responses to the image of child refugee Aylan Kurdi washed up on a Mediterranean beach after fleeing from his war-torn country.

Research indicated that through conversation and voicing serious concerns, twitter users were more likely to tweet about the refugee crisis and express remorse for the lives of refugees after the image went viral. This trend continued even 10 weeks later, after the Paris terrorist attack.

These findings are important because they stress the value that conversation, regardless of the medium, can have a positive impact on social change and reform. It is important to promote conversation about death and harm, because it leads to more empathy and care from the society as a whole (even if that empathy is coming from Twitter users).