Social Media, The Critical Infrastructure of Today that Structures Our Social Discourse
By Zhifeng Wu
Foreword: May is the annual month for people in the United States to celebrate the heritage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Given the current attention on Anti-AAPI hate, today we explore how social media is a big part of the anti-AAPI movement boiling online - as both boon and bane.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out last March in the United States, the Asian communities have suffered from surging, targeted online hatred based on unfounded claims. Among others, terms such as “China Virus” or “Kung Flu,” which are heavily based upon ill-founded biases, have been circulating around and become the loci of hatred.
Such remarks, popularized by prominent figures with influential platforms, have taken a toll on the Asian American communities, both mentally and physically. Though the anti-Asian hate movement that began roughly since early March has garnered attention unseen before, racism-driven crimes are still being committed very often. For example, there have at least been 4 attacks on Asian Americans in New York within 2 weeks, according to CNN.
One thing that stands out in this time of great discrimination towards the Asian communities is the role of social media as providing the platform for flaming, but at the same time containing the hatred. On the one hand, social media, for its accessibility to everyone, has helped circulate the racist remarks as those mentioned above, and, partly due to their revenue model based upon an attention economy, formed echo chambers that amplify and insulate biases; on the other hand, however, we also witness how those who suffer are able to garner support by exposing the racist assumptions behind the hatred online, which grew into the current anti-AAPI hate movement.
While we might tend to impose a value judgment on social media, for its obvious pros and cons, what might precede such a difficult question is the no longer ambiguous fact that social media has already profoundly restructured how we perceive and participate in any discourse. While the popularization of the World Wide Web marked a new mileage of the Age of Information, it is the introduction of social media and smartphones that helped fulfill the dream of reaching billions of people across the globe within seconds. The nature of immediacy and accessibility of social media has provided the foundation for a true “global village” that Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan could only envision almost seven decades ago. Whether one admits it or not, we live in a highly connected world where collective action - good or bad - is easily achievable.
Afterword: Here at DBPR we understand thoroughly the critical role that social media plays in constructing a genuine, positive image that any individual, brand and business necessarily rely on in order for a successful endeavor. Publicity management on social media is no longer just some dispensable cost, but a vital investment to ensure the organic growth of your business. Contact us for more information on how seasoned PR services can help with whatever endeavors you are working on today!
———————————————————————————
To stay up to date with DBPR, follow us!
About The Author:
Zhifeng is a MA student graduating from New York University’s Media, Culture, and Communication this May. Interning at DBPR during the Spring of 2021, he has been responsible, among other tasks, for various graphic ideas at DBPR’s Instagram account, of which he is proud. In his free time, he likes to read philosophy, politics and history, discover new electronic dance music, and play basketball.
