Modern movements of the young are driving force behind any decisive change of culture and an indicator of the community’s well-being and prosperity. Youth and society are inseparable. Values and principles that young people uphold reflect the society they live in. For example, young people from poor districts tend to gather in gangs to ensure their safety and survival. Youth from thriving communities, in contrast, tend to organize movements to drive positive change. They aim to change other people, neighborhoods, cities, states, or even countries. Every advance they support is dedicated to raise awareness and fight the imperfections of the status quo. Young people with active positions and dedication believe they can fuel progress.
With the penetration of social media, social movement theory has undergone significant changes. Today, young people can join movements on Facebook and Instagram, and they become influential in turn.
The top 5 most popular and most recent social movements are the following:
1) #JeSuisCharlie
This social movement resulted from a public outcry to condemn a terrorist attack. The caricature published in one of Charlie Hebdo’s issues offended the religious feelings of Muslims in France and other countries and led to a deadly shooting. Since 2014, many terrorist attacks that happened across the world have received similar hashtags.
2) #MeToo
MeToo is one of the most popular social calls in America. It became a reaction to the accusations of sexual assault in Hollywood presented against Harvey Weinstein and other famous people. Thousands of women, including celebrities and other prominent figures, stepped forward and shared their stories of harassment to raise awareness of the issue. In less than half a year, it reached over 85 countries with 1.7M followers.
3) #BlackLivesMatter
This trend started as a response against a series of shootings that took the lives of innocent black people. It mostly refers to a rise in the death toll of persons of color, primarily teenagers, shot dead by white police officers. This hashtag gave its name to a movement against police brutality based on racial discrimination and collected 41 million tweets.
4) #MarchForOurLives
This youth movement emerged as a social response to several mass shootings in schools across the U.S. Students advocate for stricter gun control and other measures that could prevent such incidents in the future. Unfortunately, no legal action has been supported to avoid gun violence in the country since the cause appeared. This movement grew into a website and united Americans in their sorrow.
5) #MuslimBan
Since Trump’s administration took office, the U.S. immigration policy has dramatically changed. It took severe steps to prevent the inflow of immigrants and refugees from Muslim countries. In response to such restrictions, young people created a movement condemning religious injustice and discrimination. They also aim to raise awareness over immigration policies that leave people in political limbo.
What’s Good and Bad about Social Movements
Many social movements are driven by people of different occupations, including students. Community involvement often requires much of their time and energy. To be able to address major social problems that affect millions of citizens and study with pleasure, students often seek for academic help online, searching for such requests as someone write my essay or who can help me to do my course work. Usually, such services cost not too much, however, help students to cope with the learning volume.
Such activity and participation make young people feel that they belong to a family of those who shares their thoughts and beliefs. Such causes unite people and communities. They also let young people express their views and opinions. At the same time, modern social movements, especially the ones organized on Facebook and Twitter, last only a short period. They fail to bring the expected results because they are continuously substituted with other ideas.
The community always rewarded people with social responsibility and an active position. The social outcry has changed the society of the past and shaped the world we live in. It is straightforward to join some cause now since there are plenty of them on the Internet. Thus, think of all the advantages and disadvantages associated with this step. Decide on the possible consequences to be sure that this is the right thing to do.
Author Biography:
Mary Hampton is a freelance writer who takes passion in education, technology, marketing, and social life to create exciting and engaging content. She studies every topic in detail before presenting her story to the readers. Sometimes when Mary has spare time, she cooperates with students of different universities and helps them with various tasks to increase her knowledge in this or that subject. As usual, services tend to ask for her help if they have requests like someone write my essay or do me academic papers. She studied the most recent youth movements as well as reflected on their nature and benefit.
