“The silence of our non-Jewish friends speaks louder now,” said a widely shared Instagram post on Monday. “This is not about politics, so any excuse you use to justify your silence is invalid. Your Jewish friends will remember your silence.”
I was confused after seeing the post that went viral on Instagram and other social media posts expressing the same sentiment.
“This” refers, of course, to the surprise attack Hamas launched against Israel on Saturday. News reports and social media accounts spread the harrowing story of what was happening there. The cries of mothers searching for their lost sons. Video of a woman being dragged by her hair. A story of rape and massacre.
Let me be clear: There is an immense privilege in remaining silent, which is not available to those whose loved ones are missing, harmed, or killed.
Still, I was confused after seeing her Instagram post and other social media posts expressing the same sentiment. I’m reading this article as a Jew who has never commented on Instagram before, and I didn’t expect any of my friends, Jewish or not, to comment.
Social media pressures us to express support, condemnation, or sympathy in moments of social and political turmoil. The types of speech in question have historically been limited to people with social or political power, such as politicians and world leaders. Since then, celebrities, athletes, and even influencers have started making such statements.
But as a viral post on Instagram shows, the expectation of having something to say has somehow spread to all of us in recent years. And the pressure includes getting it right.
in one of many tweets According to the poster, actress Lisa Ann Walter “hurt many young people who look up to you” by criticizing those who speak up for Israelis but not for Palestinians. was criticized. According to the poster, she was “silent about Palestine.” What we have had to endure historically is deafening. ”
A value-based currency that didn’t seem to exist when Instagram launched in 2010 now exists in the social media world. We are now asking ourselves: “Did I share the right thing?” Did I share enough? We treat our social media profiles as public communication channels.
But we are afraid. Because whether we like it or not, we are all now living in a new kind of public. We’ve always known that what we post online affects how the world sees us, but now we’ve learned that certain kinds of evaluations, namely not being seen as a good person, affect how the world sees us. I’m afraid that it is.
And of course, the opinions of the people we follow will shape our beliefs.
Many people are secretly processing, learning, thinking, and grieving. As we deal with those thoughts and feelings, we are faced with a shocking amount of violent footage and images. Some content may be dangerous to our mental health. Posts condemning people’s silence have no respect for that at all.
Indeed, extensive posts on specific issues have helped raise awareness and change understanding.
After the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May 2020, social media became an essential force in changing Americans’ perceptions of racism and police brutality. In a survey conducted over the summer, the Pew Research Center found that nearly a quarter of adult social media users in the U.S. cited social media content as a reason why their views on political or social issues changed. It revealed that.
For many people, it’s difficult to know exactly what to say and how to say it on social media.
But as the conversation progressed, so did the pressure to say something.. For example, June 2 of that year was promoted as “Blackout Tuesday,” a day when social media users were encouraged to post only black squares throughout the day to show support and solidarity with Black Americans. was. At the time, Noor Noman wrote in an article that “called on allies to stand up to the misguided and frankly lazy way in which the alliance has been working” that posting black squares was “inherently wrong.” It doesn’t make you human,” he wrote on NBC News. Although he is an ally, he is not inherently a good ally. ”
As Kate Lindsay wrote in her February 2022 newsletter Embedded, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, social media users are now saying, “If we don’t say something, we’re part of the problem.” And if we post about anything else, we’re insensitive.” This is true whether your audience is 300 or 300,000, Lindsay said. I did.
With Hamas launching terrorist attacks against Israel and the Israeli government retaliating in ways that are damaging to Palestinians, it is difficult for many to know exactly what to say and how to say on social media. A recent study from the University of Pennsylvania found that the key to virality in social justice messaging is content that is relevant to ourselves and our communities, and that people are more likely to stay in the minds of their followers in their posts. This suggests that you may be looking for the angle that resonates the most.
Some might argue that this is a matter of awareness, and that if individual users did not post on social media about what is happening in Israel, the news would not gain traction.
But who doesn’t know? people are talking about it. People are talking about it, from the New York Times Daily podcast to comedian Amy Schumer and actress Jamie Lee Curtis.
Why is everyone expected to show accurate support for a massive human tragedy?
We all battle our own demons every day. And we don’t necessarily expect our peers to post on social media to show us personal support. And when we choose to publicly post about our personal tragedies, we rarely expect others to participate. So why would anyone be expected to show accurate support for a massive human tragedy?
In fact, you can’t earn points on Instagram Stories. There are no prizes for those who submit the most widely accepted infographics, and no penalties for those who choose not to submit.
Given the terrible events that are constantly happening around the world, such penalties would cost each of us every day.