The Pitfalls of Powerpoint Activism

It is no secret that social media has far proved its unfaltering relevance in our daily lives. For a majority of Generation Z users, social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tik Tok have been the primary sources of their media consumption. In modern times, the popularity of digital activism, where people utilize the internet as a tool to incite social changes, has skyrocketed. At first glance, users’ access to content from all over the world through online platforms is what makes digital activism so appealing. It assures activists that their word on an issue has a very high potential to spread.

The popularization of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the summer of 2020 marked a key shift in how social media users consume and create content regarding social justice. Vogue’s Yomi Adegoke describes a new approach to activism as the “‘pics or it didn’t happen’ approach to grief,” where if “you don’t document something online, it didn’t happen.” Apps allow us to foster an online persona showcased to the world, or at least your friends, and it is presumed that this persona resembles yourself outside the digital realm. The BLM movement proved how being publicly outspoken on social issues became a necessary factor in an individual’s online persona. Adegoke states, “silence online is now interpreted as silence full stop,” as if “you’re weak if you choose to contribute to causes quietly.” Online silence regarding social issues has become unacceptable. Under this trend of digital activism, silence can only mean that you are apathetic to issues — that you have the privilege to be apathetic.

Because the user does not want to be characterized in this light, they post. But a new problem arises: what will they fill their feed with to depict to the world that they are indeed a socially conscious and educated individual? During the summer of 2020, many posted the clip of George Floyd’s death. This incited extreme backlash as the clips fueled further trauma in Black communities. Now that trauma porn has become a digital faux pas, the next trend is “PowerPoint Activism.” Vox News explains the Instagram phenomenon as “bite-sized squares of information,” utilizing the app’s 10-image carousel feature to spread awareness on social issues. These slideshows are usually designed with aesthetics in mind, for the creator’s intent is to make the issue approachable to the masses.

The most popular of such accounts would be Jess Natale’s @so.informed. Natale features muted cream and pink-toned infographics favored amongst millennial women to draw the apolitical into conversations. The account has garnered over two million followers and covers a plethora of social topics, from mental health to systemic racism. However, it is not only popular figures who are creating these slides. Any user with a Canvas account and an eye for typecast fonts can create similar posts. Reposting these infographics on your Instagram story is now the simple yet chic way to prove that you are doing your part as an activist.

“PowerPoint activism,” however, is intended to simplify social issues to make them accessible to the masses. This translates into the deletion of nuance regarding complex topics. There is only so little information that can fit into the ten slides allotted for these infographics, and there is often bias in what is shared. Take, for example, the Israel and Palestine conflict that “trended” on the internet after the violence that took place this May. The 100-year-old conflict had to be digestible for the average consumer, resulting in Instagram feeds flooding with dark-green colored slideshows of incorrect information or one-dimensional takes. The captions of these kinds of posts usually include the phrase “why is no one talking about...,” which further trivializes the complex history behind social justice issues. The slides’ structure and its catering to the uninformed remove most contextual nuances, leading to unproductive conversations.

Furthermore, because appearing socially conscious or “woke” has become a trend, these infographics serve as short-term solutions with no space for deeper internal reflection by the user. Participating in activism indicates that individuals are taking time to internally deconstruct their own biased opinions and educate themselves on the matter. However, “PowerPoint activism” has made it easy to expect to be spoon-fed information and opinion on controversial issues. Posts intended to supply preliminary information have turned into means for reposting and moving on to the next trending topic. Indeed, social media proves to be efficient in spreading awareness when a conflict arises, but it simultaneously diminishes the importance and severity of social justice matters.