As a senior in high school, I took a course called "Senior Project" in which I created a capstone project of my choice. The project needed a service piece and was meant to serve our personal and career interests. I decided to try my hand at going viral with a social media campaign about a topic that's important to me: domestic violence.
As a child, my mother was in an abusive relationship with my father and it affected my sister and me as well as my mom. It led to some pretty bad anxiety for me, which I struggle with to this day. I became heavily claustrophobic and had other random fears that sprung from it. I was afraid to put shirts on over my head, to sleep in the room with the door closed, or ride inside of elevators. I flinched at quick movements easily. Today, far removed from that time, I am much better overall in terms of handling my anxiety and I have overcome these fears. But the source of my problem still affects millions of others around the world.
I decided to finally do something about it. My campaign is titled RIPDV (Rest In Pieces Domestic Violence) and it is live on Facebook. You can check out the page here.
While creating the campaign, I learned a lot about the power of social media and about domestic violence. It is impossible to make something go viral, but there are steps you can take to set media up for viral success. Getting the word out can be tough. It takes an understanding of how and when to post things, how to target certain audiences, how to write effectively, how to create a brand and more. But when done right, you can reach hundreds and even thousands of people with your message. This gives you a great ability to fight for what you believe in.
In the short time I worked on the campaign at the end of my senior year, I got a great start with gaining around 470 followers. That number is now rising again as I have revived the page. I invite any of you reading to visit and follow the page. So many people, including many who you may know personally, are victims of domestic abuse. It is so often downplayed or swept under the rug. I want to shine a spotlight on the issue and provide support to those suffering. It is up to all of us to speak up and to help.