This past school year, my house and others around campus cracked down on social media use, implementing stricter policies about what their members could and could not post. These policies included censoring of members’ pictures by the executive board, or by a specially appointed board to ensure that the houses were projecting the best image to the social media sphere as possible. Many of my peers have reacted negatively to these new policies. They're incredibly worried that they would not be able to post pictures at a party scene or a bar. I was surprised to see where a lot of people placed their priorities when it came to the usage of social media, and it got me thinking.

Recent events such as the Charleston shooting got me wondering about college campuses and the common uses of social media. National leaders are calling for people to band together and fight the culture of hate and prejudice that has been blowing up in the media recently. I cannot help but think what an amazing difference 18-, 19-, and 20-somethings can make using social media, especially if we started thinking about what we can do instead of what we can't do using Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and such.

We can start petitions, raise awareness, fight injustices and so much more. Many people take one or two weeks out of the year to publicize philanthropies and charitable causes, but imagine if members of such large organizations did this once a week, every week? It has been said that college campuses are the most motivated and politically active places in the United States. If this is true, I can only imagine what can happen if we enlist even more minds into a culture of activism. We are young, brilliant, enthusiastic, and tech savvy -- a recipe for making a difference.

Almost all of the political candidates today utilize the web to promote their campaigns and stir up support. You can go online and post words of support on many of their forums and share their campaign platforms with your followers on all types of social media. The ever popular and thriving Dance Marathons around the nation benefiting Children's Miracle Network Hospitals conduct almost all of their fundraising efforts online. Fundraisers promote a their own or a friend’s fundraising page, encourage others to check out their local campus Dance Marathons, and actually raise money through social media.

Especially recently, national leaders have urged the nation to take a stance against the racist symbols we still see in our daily culture, and the internet can be a powerful tool for enlisting support in such causes. Online petitions and discussion forums are the new ways our generation goes “door to door” asking for support. There are limitless ways to use the Internet and social media for social change and positive influence.

"TIME" magazine and many other publications have speculated that this decade is the mirror image of the 1960s, and I think we have the potential to make the same kinds of societal leaps that they did 50 years ago. We’re at yet another monumental time period for America and we can either keep reaching for greatness, as we have in the past, or remain stagnant. The young people, especially college students like you and me, can have a huge impact on the nation’s movement. There are hundreds of thousands of us around the nation and that is certainly a force to be reckoned with.

I have often been ridiculed for my “hippie liberal” and political posts on Twitter and Facebook. Peers tell me I am using my Twitter wrong or that those sorts of opinions don't belong on the internet. My question is why? What makes posts about real thoughts, politics, and world events less interesting than those of people holding red solo cups? I do not mind the criticism of my social media because I recognize that everyone can choose to use their resources in their own ways, but I am comforted by the idea that I have a platform to share my own ideas and beliefs and can use it influence some others along the way.

I challenge those around me to not worry about the artsy mimosa pics or the picture of you and your friends at a party that was "just so cute." I challenge everyone to consider using the time and energy spent trying to avoid the rules or being angry about the them and surf the web to find a cause that you can get behind and post about. It’ll be fun, meaningful, and will do so much more than earn you those precious likes and shares.