Social media
by Patricia Mura Desert, MSSW
Imagine a world with socially conscious digital users.
At the beginning of every year, I like to take three months’ sabbatical from social media. I delete Facebook, Instagram, and any news app from my phone to refill my spiritual tank away from the digital world. During this time, I pray, read, take nature walks, and am mindfully present in my family. This year, I wanted to challenge myself to take six months. I was even contemplating not coming back at all. I started watching documentaries like The Social Dilemma and YouTube videos of activists against social media like Dr. Cal Newport, Sharon Janier, and many others to support this decision. However, I quickly realized that what I wanted was not to be away from it all, but rather I needed my social platforms to be positively impactful. As I reframed and deconstructed this in my head, the social worker in me quickly saw this as a challenge to accept. Thus, I came back using the premise of social consciousness to influence my feeds and help other sociopreneurs do the same.
The sociologist Emile Durkheim defines the term “social consciousness” as “the actions and interactions of individuals in the collective society.” In our current digital world, that collective consciousness consists of social media posts, blogs, virtual meetings, and online discussions that portray the opinions and expertise of those we are connected to. Durkheim further explained that there are two divides in a collective society: “The mechanical, a society where we have little choice about the people we are connected to; the organic, a society where we select the people in our collective circle” (Libretexts, 2020). Social platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and many others fit the general definition of the “organic society.”
So, now the questions that we should ask ourselves are: How are we impacting that organic society? Are we being mindful about our actions and interaction with our network? Are we engaging each other toward positive change? Are we posting content to improve or provoke? Are we being mindful about the audience reading our posts? These are some questions that I asked myself before coming back to social media. I am inviting you to reflect on your own answers to these questions. Take this even a step further by improving the newsfeed of your colleagues with impactful content.
In her article, Social Workers: Allies for Justice, Dr. Lakeya Cherry (2020) made a call to action to social workers to “speak up and be at the frontline in redesigning just systems.” I would like to add that this power to impact our society is literally within our hands with the magic of our cellphones and social media addresses. Whether it’s fifteen or ten thousand followers connected to our platform, we have the possibility to contribute toward a better world simply by posting to have a positive impact. Also, by positive impact, I do not necessarily mean that we will all feel good or happy about each other’s posts. What I mean is achieving a world where all bodies are celebrated, all skin colors are revered, and all individuals are valued as fellow humans first, simply because your posts or reposts were mindful.
Social media is our virtual state, and our respective network is our ZIP Code. We have the access to initiate positive change and create a better collective experience within our digital neighborhood. “It’s not about who you know, but who knows you” (Hillyer, 2017).
Think of some of the ways you can make the world a better place using your platforms.
References
Cherry, L. (2020). Social workers: Allies for justice. The New Social Worker. https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/social-workers-allies-justice/
Hillyer, R. (2017, July 5). Eight ways to build a socially conscious empire. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/07/05/eight-ways-to-build-a-socially-conscious-empire/?sh=2617e0d66850
Libretexts. (2020, December 16). 1.2F: Durkheim and social integration. Social Sci LibreTexts. https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Book%3A_Sociology_(Boundless)/01%3A_Sociology/1.02%3A_The_History_of_Sociology/1.2F%3A_Durkheim_and_Social_Integration#:~:text=Durkheim%20believed%20that%20society%20exerted,together%20and%20creates%20social%20integration.
Patricia Mura Desert
Patricia Mura Desert
Patricia Mura Desert is a social worker and founder of Distinction Co. She is also the board president of Savesouls Inc., a nonprofit serving the Afro-Caribbean population in the U.S. through mental health education and referrals. Connect with Patricia on LinkedIn. Find her on Instagram at @patriciamdesert.