Remediation and 21st Century Activism

We now live in a world where the only place we feel truly safe to speak our minds is behind a computer screen. It’s understandable that people become braver when they know they will not have to face any repercussions for their comments. It’s easier for most people to make inflammatory and controversial remarks when they don’t have a pair of eyes staring back at them. What I wonder is what has remediation done to our generation and how will we be remembered?

Our preceding generations had countercultures that weren’t afraid to challenge the pre-existing political and social norms of their time. They expressed their personal feelings in ways that were hard to ignore, and they most certainly faced repercussions. Most countercultures were literally and metaphorically “in your face” and that’s how they made their movements and causes more popular. Even now, we remember what they wore, sang, and did.

Now, posting things on the Internet is the easiest way to disseminate information about any cause. Our generation no longer relies on print, music, or television to spread awareness. How will our generation’s activists be represented in history? Most of us have stories about our parents and how they were part of physical, organized protests. Will our parents’ Vietnam War protests be equated with Invisible Children's KONY 2012 campaign, whose video has over 96 million views on Youtube?

           Although the Internet and social media sites provide a much broader audience, I think it will be harder for our generation to advocate change in a meaningful way. No matter how moving a Facebook campaign is, will it ever be as memorable or influential as the photographs of the Kent State Shooting were/are to millions of Americans? Personally, I think the things we see in the digital world are hard to connect to on a personal level because they exist in an ever-changing environment. What kind of mark will a generation from the Information Age be able to leave?