A

few days ago, I came
across an op-ed in The
New York Times, “Angry

Tweets Won’t
Help
African

Lions,” where
the
author,

Richard
Conniff,
implores
people to do more than just
tweet angrily about issues they
care about. Last year, as Conniff
pointed out, when Zimbabwe’s
prized lion, Cecil, was shot by a
Minnesota dentist, organizations
condemned
the
doctor
and

people took to social media,
expressing
outrage
over
the

lion’s killing and the larger issue
of “trophy hunting” — selectively
hunting game and often keeping
parts of the animal as a trophy.
Conniff emphasizes that simply
expressing anger and frustration
over an issue is not enough.

And he is right. We need to

do more than express anger
through tweets or simply show
solidarity
through
changing

our profile pictures. But those
are places to start, and we’d do
well to encourage it and suggest
more ways to help. It is time
that we embrace the power of
social media and use it. Just as
words aren’t enough alone to
change a situation, criticizing
those who are trying to help a
cause stops short of the real issue
surrounding social justice. We
should be saying: This is great,
and we want more. Though I
do not love certain aspects of
social media, there is no question
that it is powerful. News and
information are traveling faster
than ever before through these
channels. I find out about events
and read articles I wouldn’t
have if they hadn’t popped up
on Facebook and other forms of
social media.

So,
instead
of
criticizing

people for changing their profile
pictures to show their solidarity
with France or for tweeting their
anger about the killing of Cecil

the Lion, we must acknowledge
that these things are a start and
then encourage people to take
these steps further and use social
media to share donation links,
important petitions and articles.
While we could be critical of
social media all the time, there
are ways in which we could
utilize social media to progress
dialogue about issues of social
justice and to enact change,
which is a crucial missing part of
our dialogue.

Despite the ways that social

media has changed our private
lives and our relationships with
friends and family, it can help
spread the word about important
causes and issues. As television
and news stories focused the
nation’s
attention
to
police

brutality against demonstrators
during the civil rights movement
in the ‘50s and ‘60s, today,
images and stories shared over
social media focus our attention
on many causes, shining the
spotlight
on
something
that

might otherwise be lost. Words
can be a powerful way to begin a
discussion.

Spending
too
much
time

dwelling on past times, and
wishing
away
Facebook,

Instagram and Twitter won’t
do us any good. By the first
few months of 2016, Facebook
had 1.65 billion active monthly
users, almost 20 percent of
the
world’s
population.
As

of June 2016, there were 500
million
monthly
Instagram

users. Whether or not I am
always happy with how these

platforms have changed and
shaped our society, social media
is here now, and it would be in
our best interest to work with
these platforms and not against
them. Furthermore, to reach
the millennial generation and
generations to come, which will
be born in the age of rapidly
expanding technology, we have
to
adjust
and
acknowledge

social media’s large presence.

It’s time that we change our

tune. I agree that throwing out
a tweet about a recent tragedy
or something we see as unjust
isn’t where we should stop,
but it does no good to brush
someone aside because you
don’t think they are doing
enough. That can only shut
down the conversation. There
are so many issues that I want
to help address, but I can often
feel overwhelmed. Where do
I start? How can I help? By
bringing the conversation to
mediums such as Facebook, it
can help a big task feel more
achievable, giving me more
confidence that I can help make
a change.

Conniff mentions in his piece

that we need organizations,
such as the United Nations,
the
European
Union,
etc.,

to put money toward causes
such
as
saving
endangered

species. I agree, but one way
we can go about achieving
this
goal
is
disseminating

information and spreading the
word through social media.
And,
who
knows?
Angry

tweets could help jumpstart an
important movement because,
once issues begin to appear on
social media, it helps put the
issue on the world stage, raise
awareness and fuel action to
create legislation to address
these issues. Instead of being
critical and telling people they
aren’t doing enough, we need to
encourage them to do more.

—Anna Polumbo-Levy can be

reached at annapl@umich.edu.

5
OPINION

Thursday, July 7, 2016

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Utilize the power of social media

Roland Davidson, Caitlin Heenan, Elena Hubbell, Jeremy
Kaplan, Madeline Nowicki, Kevin Sweitzer, Brooke White.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

ANNA
POLUMBO-
LEVY

Two different Michigans
A

Thrillist
article
from

more than a year ago
claiming that Michigan

is
the
best

state
has

reemerged
and is being
shared
quite a bit on Facebook. The
justification centers on tourism,
boasting
the
rising
brewing

industry, the seemingly endless
shorelines and the beauty of the
Upper Peninsula. The article
even guides readers unfamiliar
with Michigan to “listen to the
dulcet tones of Michigan tourism
pitchman Tim Allen.”

As
important
as
tourism

is to the state of Michigan, I
don’t think it’s fair to evaluate
Michigan
exclusively
on
its

tourist attractions. Seeing such
positive attitudes toward the
state brings me joy. But I worry
that by focusing on the positive
aspects of Michigan, we will
forget
the
negative
aspects

that cripple the lives of many
poor communities. Michigan’s
setbacks need to remain at the
forefront of the discussion until
we can begin to correct them.

We
can’t
overlook
that

Detroit and Flint both fall in
the top three most dangerous
cities in America. While parts
of Detroit still carry the city’s
rich history, and Midtown and
Downtown continue to grow
and develop, the school district
and neighborhoods in the city
are still falling apart. The city’s
unemployment rate is still nearly
10 percent, more than double the
statewide and national rates of
4.7 percent.

To
make
matters
worse,

Metro Detroit has the highest
concentrated poverty rate of the
top 25 metro areas in the country.
The term “working poor” applies
especially well to the area, as
many of the impoverished people
have jobs.

Urban poverty isn’t the only

problem Michigan faces, as rural
poverty is also a serious ailment
plaguing the state. Eleven of the
poorest counties in the state
of Michigan are rural. Often
referred to as the hidden poor,
rural communities with high
poverty rates often go unnoticed
mainly because of their isolation
from metropolises. Additionally,
these rural communities are
often the places suburbanites

build
their
summer
homes,

pushing
poor
populations

further into the shadows of
beautiful lake houses and cabins.

Spending most of their time

in Ann Arbor, I think many
Michigan students, through no
fault of their own, become blind
to the economic struggles many
residents
in
Michigan
face.

When we venture to Detroit,
we visit downtown and take the
expressway back to Ann Arbor.
We see what tourists see when
they visit Detroit: the bustling,
gentrified areas of downtown
where abandoned houses and
crumbling schools are out of
sight. We often miss the bigger
picture,
and
consequently

struggle to grasp the legitimate
concerns that face the city and
many parts of the state.

As a lifelong resident of the

state of Michigan, I love the
state I call home. I can’t wait to
visit the microbreweries in my
hometown when I turn 21. I love
heading downtown to watch a
Red Wings game. I can’t complain
about the miles of sandy beaches
that guard the outside of both
peninsulas, either.

However, the aforementioned

features are, as the Thrillist
article indicates, major tourist
attractions. Though tourism is
a huge part of Michigan life, it
is not the main part. Michigan’s
endless shorline is not a valid
excuse to ignore the economic
problems that plague rural and
urban regions of the state.

Perhaps these problems will

be fixed over time, but, until they
are, Michigan will remain home
to two vastly different realities:
one where craft beers, endless
beaches and majestic wildlife
are the main focus, and another
reality where poverty and lack
of economic growth are the
dominating features. Celebrating
Michigan’s
vibrant
tourism

culture
is
understandable,

but even in the midst of our
celebration, we cannot overlook
the significant setbacks many
communities face. We may not
have immediate solutions to
these problems, and that is fine.
But, until progress is made, the
economic struggles that hurt
poor communities cannot escape
our evaluations of the state.

—Ryan Roose can be reached

at rooserj@umich.edu.

Angry tweets could
help jumpstart an

important movement.

RYAN
ROOSE