Fashion

How to use social media to make a positive change (because no voice is too small)



Everyone and their grandma have debated whether social media is good or bad, whether it has been detrimental to young people’s mental health or provided a space to feel heard, whether it is turning our brains to mush or expanding our world views. For me, it’s not inherently good or bad, it’s just a tool – and how we use that tool is what really counts. As a Social Media Editor, I’m obviously biased in how necessary I feel social platforms are, because they pay my bills. But more than that, social media has allowed me to reach thousands upon thousands of people with messages I feel are important, raise hundreds of pounds, introduce me to a handful of my best friends, create a network of like-minded people, have my views challenged and has, ultimately, pushed me to evolve.

Posting your views on social media doesn’t make you an activist, but it’s a good start. Just over two years ago, I founded a website and social media accounts of the same name, FGRLS CLUB, to create a space for me to promote diverse women and their diverse voices, and to push all my energy into something productive.

A lot of women will relate to that feeling of hopelessness, that *the world is burning and I can’t do anything*, but with the internet, that just isn’t true anymore. No voice is small because every voice has the power to reach people. While 20k is a drop in the ocean in terms of social media followers, this micro-audience I’ve created from scratch has really changed people’s lives, and my own. From raising 100s of pounds for period poverty charities, to bringing an online audience into IRL events (on topics like sex-positivity and body image) that have inspired and empowered, to giving young women a place to put their deepest and darkest thoughts – social media has allowed me to feel less helpless, and create real, tangible change. To mark our May Digital Issue, the Activism Issue, starring Millie Bobby Brown, I have shared the ways you can use social media for good.

Cleanse Your Feed


Seeing and hearing people on your feed that are different from you is really important, and a good way to make sure you don’t end up in a virtual soundboard. But, there’s a line – you don’t need to see the likes of Piers Morgan cropping up every day and making you angry, and you definitely don’t need to see heavily-Photoshopped Instagram models that make you feel less than. You also don’t need to see your friend’s friend who called her boyfriend “this one” or “hubby”. Press unfollow and mute, and find accounts that make *you* feel good. Whether that’s motivational quotes or pictures of corgis, you do you. Once you have feng shuied your online home, you can start to do good…

Engage, Repost & Promote

Whether you have 100 or 100,000 followers, everyone has the power to influence. I like to think of everyone as micro-influencers, because if you can affect change in 10 people that can make a massive difference. Share charity links, push people to sign petitions, repost challenging and inspiring quotes, promote accounts that are doing important work and it could really help – if 10 people see your post and decide to donate to a charity, that could save someone’s life. Social media activists get a bad rep, but they can shed light on issues that otherwise would go unsupported and mobilise people on a scale the world has never seen before. The Women’s March and other massive protests alike all started and were organised on social media, without the power of Instagram we might have never heard of self-made activists like Munroe Bergdorf, Greta Thunberg, and Amika George.

Call People Out


Cancel culture is an untamed beast, that has arguably gone too far. But at its core, it works – it makes people accountable for their actions and it rebalances power. The internet doesn’t forget, but it does let people grow – Jameela Jamil is the perfect example of someone who was “canceled” but came back stronger, and more educated. The likes of Logan Paul and Kanye West who’ve also been reprimanded on the internet are still in the internet’s bad books, because they haven’t. Celebrities used to be put on a peddle stool, where often the moral compass was weaker applicable because they were seen as untouchable, but that’s changing – it’s not enough to just be famous anymore, you have to be famous and be a good role model.

In this cataclysmic time, where the line between right and wrong is growing thicker and thicker, and opinions are dividing further and further, social media is a great place to find *your people*, and to stand up for what you believe in.





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