Some days it’s so easy for me to open my phone and tap into my social/entertainment apps i.e. Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. The goal being to connect with the world, friends, family, or whatever trends are happening at the time. I like to think I have some sort of control of my algorithm based on the posts and people I interact with. Only to come across a horrifically graphic video of violence, injustice, or heart-breaking news. My heart immediately sinks. My nerves spike. A rush of feelings surrounds my thoughts. Truthfully, there’s never any precaution or preparation for the things you’ll see just scrolling on socials. So inevitably I am stuck with the choice to interact with the content, scroll past it, or close the app and hope to have something different populate my screen, 

Just that easily I can decide whether to engage in the social issues of the world or disengage. Of course, it’s so hard to scroll past a scenario that can very well be me or someone I love at any given moment. So my first act of engagement is to check the comments.. What is the ‘collective’ thinking? What is the ‘collective’ feeling? Besides there being video evidence, what is being done to resolve the bigger issue at hand? With tensions running high, in a matter of seconds into interacting with a post one can begin to question their use of digital life. There’s a difference between real life emotions, hardships, and progress. Versus a video, a poll, or an article that is meant to gain the most interactions, good or bad with no real-life interchanges. No wonder it’s so easy to be completely desensitized, burnt out, and indifferent with the political, environmental, social, and economic status of the world. Still, the question lingers: are we changing the world or avoiding it

Social Media presents us with so many different world issues, it would be impossible to take them all on at once. How does a person differentiate their actual role in helping the greater good? Why is it easier to choose escapism over activism?

Activism

Starting with Activism. By definition activism is directly mobilizing to inflict social, environmental, economic, or political change. Activism doesn’t hold one font,it can look like petitioning, protesting, artistic expression, or community organizing with hopes  to make a change and influence the greater good. Nowadays, you may notice one form of online activism as a trending hashtag on social media  that not only generates notoriety but unifies a bold message of protest. Another online form of activism is the output of education and information that refutes misconceptions made to make corruption, injustice, racism, or censoring acceptable. Then there’s the offline action. Over the years many people have joined together to peacefully march and protest. Oftentimes, many have taken the time to volunteer for community organizations that boldly stand against political, economic and social regression. All of which deserves recognition and praise! It is so important to have personal values and beliefs. Otherwise, it is inevitable that you’ll be manipulated, misled, and abused by outside influence.  A quote that has been embedded in my mind was said by Malcolm X echoes, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.” It is even more important to awaken the moral compass in those we share the world with in order to see palpable change. Thankfully, we have seen the beautiful results of activism over the decades, yet it is important to note the limits of activism. Why? Because not all activism is conducive to change.

Escapism

The word Escapism exists to tell the tale why Activism isn’t always effective. Escapism is a form of mental escape that provides temporary relief from distressing realities, responsibilities, and daily routines by engaging in activities such as exercising, reading, traveling, gambling, social media scrolling, binge-watching and so on. It is important to distinguish the healthy side of escapism vs the unhealthy. On the other hand escapism is a great way for many of us to lead a balanced life. While it may sound like a complete avoidance tactic, escapism is more of a stress reliever and mental reset when needed. I can attest to the joy, fulfillment, and clarity I gain from doing simple exercises daily. The problem with escapism creeps in when there is an excessive amount of time being devoted to leisure at the expense of being productive. It can easily feel like you are tending to your needs of rejuvenation or relaxation until avoidance has taken over. Nothing gets done. Am I speaking from experience? Possibly 😀. At any rate, escapism can be both good and bad.

Honestly speaking, in today’s day and age escapism is the only way many of us are able to cope with reality. There are so many pressures, complications, disappointments, and struggles that are unavoidable these days. Having a moment or two to get one’s mind off of the mundane is a requirement. Oddly enough I noticed after reading a constellation novel (basking in escapism), that the moments where our minds aren’t overly occupied with fixing the world we are able to imagine and create a blueprint for what the future can look like. Think of your favorite movie, song, or entertainment pieced and the feeling it evokes. Its always the underlying truth within an entertainment piece that is not only relatable but thought provoking. To me, escapism provides the basis for the empathy and vigor we feel about real life issues.

Yet, the question lingers….. activsm or escapism?

Have you ever felt completely invigorated or compelled to step out and make a difference in the world? Looking at the current state of affairs that America alone has to unwind and fix, do you ever want your voice to be heard or your struggle to be acknowledged? If your answer is yes, then you would definitely choose activism. Only its not as easy as just ‘saying’ you want to be an activist, it takes actual work! There are so many outrage cycles that seem to pop up every season and die down within weeks because there’s no real action behind the emotion or thought of activism. That in turn is choosing escapism. Neither is it enough to share a post or interact with content and continue on your way scrolling with a lack of DEEPER engagement on the issue.

Believe it or not, choosing to focus on one or two issues that run closest to your heart will be the greatest form of activism. There is a spirit of constant exposure to GLOBAL problems that are truthfully out of reach. Added on to that is the overload of content or news tailored by an algorithm that wants certain issues highlighted which overtime is causing compassion fatigue and burnout. Just think of the household names of activist; Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dolores Huerta and so on, all of whom focused on ONE issue! That one issue in turn ended up affecting the world for the better. Now, I’m not saying we’re all going to be world renowned activist, however we can change the world we live in instead of avoiding it.

Moving forward it is important to ask such questions when coming to the plight of escapism or activism?

• Am I taking action or just reacting?
• Do I feel informed or overwhelmed?
• Is this helping me contribute or disconnect?

The Balance

At the end of the day, there will always be a problem in the world that is worth fixing. Activism is our choosing to bring awareness to that specific problem. With that in mind sustainability is more important than extremity. Whether, awareness is triggered online or by everyday issues the small direct actions put behind a movement matters more than anything. The passiveness of never truly connecting with any of the issues of our world is how we avoid the world. As well as the seeking of dopamine rushes, social validation, or even identity signaling that has no equivalency to actual accomplishment it only leads further towards escapism. Which as previously discussed isn’t bad in it’s entirety, but is essential in restoring the vision of a better world.

There is no better time to act, speak, and directly evoke a change in the small ways to which each of us has the right to do. Looking around at the increasing problems in the world it’s easy to see how much it reflects our choice as humanity to avoid the world. Not to mention, it is completely unfair to hand down problems to a generation to fix and live through when we have THE CHOICE now to make things better. The future can not wait any longer for activism to be activated.