Has social media created an even playing field for people of colour?
harassment to the importance of racial diversity, this article will provide a brief idea of what is happening to people of colour on social media apps.
Black influencers are rarely ever invited on influencer trips. I’ve started screenshotting every press trip I’ve seen over the last month and the lack of diversity is so upsetting (but not surprising).
Blogger and author Stephenie Yeboah reached out to a company asking whether 'they ever use non-white influencers in their campaigns' and offered to help add some diversity to the company she was quickly blocked. When tweeting on the subject she said "The influencer community has long had an issue with racial inclusivity, yet it still seems to be a topic largely avoided by marketers, brands, and by white influencers themselves (likely for fear of falling out of favour with the brands and PR companies who pay their bills)."
Harassment and racist/hate comments.
In the unfortunate reality, harassment or hate comment are far more likely if your colour of skin differentiates from the norm. Every one-in-four blacks say they have been targeted or harassed online because of their race/ethnicity. The same is true for one-in-10 Hispanics.Why is it so important that social media platforms show and promote racial diversity?
Due to the lack of diversity throughout the media, many children of colour feel inferior and not worth representation. Alicia Tenise experienced the same thing as a child and said that "I don't want another little girl out there feeling the way I did as I was growing up — all types of folks should be represented on these influencers trips". Minority groups feel empowered, valued and wanted when seeing a realistic representation of themselves on social media. Diversity on social media breeds compassion, understanding, support and provides a voice for those who have been silenced before. It provides a realistic image of society and it's something we should all be striving to reach.
How the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM) has promoted racial diversity on Social Media
Recently, after the death of people such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Abery, the black lives matter movement have had a surge of online support with many big influencers and celebrities sharing ways to help the movement. This means that many people have started to make a conscious effort to promote racial diversity and help with the movement.
What we can do to help the situation
Some great ways to help promote racial diversity on social media:
Follow POC influencers
Report racist pages/comments
Share ways to help the BLM movement and promote racial diversity on your page
Sources I used:
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