I remember the first time I used a hashtag. It was roughly 2011, and my friend was trying to explain how I would go about adding one to my tweet. So on the selfie of us I was posting at a sleepover, I decided to write “#fun.” Back then, when hashtags were first going viral, no one truly understood the point of them. They were certainly entertaining but they didn’t technically serve any sort of purpose. It’s crazy how the innocent hashtags that captioned our selfies turned into a monumental social media staple that changed the face of activism.

Hashtags have become a revolutionary movement. When there’s a national or even international crisis, issue, or incident, you can simply log on to Twitter and see the millions of people that have written a tweet using the exact same hashtag. Now Instagram, Facebook, and basically any other social media platform facilitate the use of hashtags as well. So with such a wide scope of people reached by these messages, are they actually making a difference in the world?

There’s no way to accurately measure their success. There’s no definitive way to obtain a yes or no answer to this question. But just mull this over: After #stopkony went viral, kids in Africa were still facing the same gruesome hardships as before. Why is it that we feel as though spreading a hashtag is solving the issue? We want to spread awareness, yes, but wouldn't it be even better if we stepped outside and did something about the problem at hand?

I simply want to caution against getting in the habit of replacing an action with a hashtag. If you hear about a charitable cause that seems worthwhile, don’t sit on your phone and tweet about it; get off the couch and attend a walk that raises money for it.

It can be a truly beautiful thing when people want to empower others. The #yesallwomen movement was a big step in feminism and the #whyIstayed movement was too, not to mention that it opened the eyes of many to the devastating truths of domestic abuse. Hashtags can serve as a chariot of information and reach audiences that wouldn’t otherwise be reached. This generation of kids, teens, and even young adults will open their social media apps in the morning but not an actual newspaper. Some hashtags are humorous and entertaining. When #AlexfromTarget took over the internet, the only harm done was teenage girls swooning over a cute employee.

Whether the hashtag is a harmless joke or a way for people to tell their story, I just want to leave you with this: next time you find yourself engaging in a viral hashtag movement, ponder if it’s the best course of action. If posting on social media is the best way you can contribute to a cause, do it. If there’s a way to take action beyond the power of your phone, the benefits will be even greater.