Something that is surfacing in organizations and advocacy work across the country is the following question: Can you be an activist solely through social media? If so, what good does it do? If not, why do you feel that way? Many people argue that yes, you can raise awareness and bring light to issues all while showing your opinion as well. Others may say that social media activism can only do so much. This leads me to another question: How do we define "activism" nowadays?

Let's go back to the civil rights movement, women's suffrage movements and immigration reform movements where people actually got out and protested, lobbied at their capitols and spoke out against injustice. Back then, this was society's definition of activism. No one is saying that you need to be out protesting or shutting down streets; however, this is what it used to be like. Now, people label themselves as "activists" by starting a petition on Change.org or constantly posting articles and their opinions on social media. Is this really enough? Is activism going to be moved from the streets to the Internet?

All of this leads to another question: Can activism be done through social media? Where do we draw the line? Sure, posting articles and virtually standing up for what you believe in may raise awareness of issues, and it may even be a way to show the world where you stand on issues. In some cases, you may be lucky and gather momentum to go out and physically do some activist work. The next question is, would you be able to call yourself an activist if you did everything through social media behind a phone or computer? What exactly do we consider an activist nowadays?

So, tying everything back together, I now say no to this question whenever it gets brought up. Do I believe that raising awareness of these issues is important and can have an effect on some people? Hell yes. Do I think that you can leave a lasting opinion on someone through social media? Yes. Do I think we can truly call ourselves an "activist" if we are just doing efforts behind a screen? Not necessarily.