Heres How to Use Social Media to Combat Climate Change

like the rest of the world

i’ve spent the last four months under

lockdown in my apartment

due to the global pandemic and for a

climate activist

whose main purpose is to mobilize folks

this presented a

unique set of challenges you might even

go so far as to say

that being physically distant has

weakened the momentum

behind the climate revolution i mean

we’ve all been stuck inside right

there haven’t been any climate marches

for my friends in eid irelia

no global climate conferences to convene

at

and not even organized beach cleanups to

attend

but despite all of this i’ve been more

engaged than ever

my activism has gone virtual

this isn’t your typical ted talk on

climate change

i’m not here to tell you about dwindling

natural habitats or

how poor air quality is leading to a

public health crisis

you already know that today

i’d like to talk to you instead about

how people are taking climate action

using their smartphones

here’s some food for thought social

media usage in particular

has shot up significantly since the

start of the pandemic

twitter reported that their platform

usage grew 23

over this year alone so

what does this mean for you and me well

companies and leaders are increasingly

aware of what users have to say online

they track our interests our top posts

and our trending hashtags and while this

all sounds surface level

just look at the power a hashtag had in

spreading awareness on a recent global

event

last summer when man-made fires ravaged

the amazon jungle and the brazilian

government chose to turn a blind

eye activists took to their platforms

with over 1.3 million engagements across

the web

the movement went from conversation to

mobilization

eventually mounting international

pressure led

the brazilian government to acknowledge

the fires and has since stepped up

measures against

illegal burning and deforestation

it was maybe time to start using social

media

for environmental activism i was now

certain

that no one else was going to create the

type of platform that i wanted to see

and if there was just the slightest

chance that i could inspire anyone

then i was going to take it

fast forward to my university graduation

my iphone library was filled with photos

both from

commencement and graphic designs for

this new platform i had in mind

called climate action lab i reached out

to

everyone i knew for help my boss for

helping draft our mission statement my

friends who

pitch story ideas and my colleagues for

their recommendations on industry

websites to keep up with

i had no idea what i was getting myself

into

i never ran a site or managed interns

before

and honestly upon launch we had no money

no resources and no clue what climate

action lab would turn into

so we just started doing what young

people do best

we created thoughtful graphics to ease

our audience into data-heavy information

we use memes to make the conversation

around climate

action more relatable and we used

hashtags

to drive our content further into the

digital sphere than we originally

imagined before i knew it

we were gaining traction our community

grew

and by using this platform as a tool

demand for

more stories and more issues to organize

around grew too

somehow we ended up hosting a panel of

young

local climate leaders to share their

experiences

and discuss how to get involved the

night before the event

i stared at my ceiling and wondered if

anyone would show up

but somehow it worked out

members of the climate action lab

community convened

in person and via instagram live for an

unforgettable evening about how to take

action

every seat was filled

so you might be asking yourself

what does social media have to do with

any of this

how are likes going to stop oil fracking

and who is going to listen to a bunch of

angry kids on the internet

anyway well

the people in power are

okay gia someone might say but

social media alone is not enough to

carry the climate movement

to which i would respond of course it’s

not

let me be clear while helpful social

media is a supplement

not a substitute for taking action

instead i want you to use your accounts

as a launch pad

to begin your own research and from

there

real change like the systematic

restructure restructuring of our

government can happen

it’s an incredibly complex thing after

all

but there are some things that

everyone could get started with

individually steps that we each can take

to raise awareness and prompt

transformation

so what are the first four steps to

using your social media for climate

action

let’s jump right into it first

practice self-efficacy if there’s one

thing i’ve learned this past year

running climate action lab

it’s that if you don’t think you are

capable of making an impact

then chances are you probably won’t

think to yourself

when faced with a challenge do you feel

like you can rise up to the occasion

or do you give up in defeat you see

when you believe that you have the

ability to accomplish your goals

then you are most likely to folks who

have high self-efficacy tend to develop

a stronger sense of commitment

to their interests and recover quickly

from setbacks

they bounce back stronger which is

important as an

activist when you are bombarded with

what feels like only negative news

sometimes

trust that your work matters because it

does

second do your homework

one of the many great things about being

an ally

is that we continue to learn and grow

with the climate movement

to protect our air water and land from

pollution

we have to stay up to date with the

newest science and solutions

it’s the same thing when advocating for

social and environmental justice

however what becomes tricky is

identifying what is fact

from fiction the line between journalism

and other content has blurred making it

more important than ever for all content

creators

regardless of their platform to verify

their facts

so i implore you root

your posts incredible and verifiable

information

thirdly make friends with strangers

i personally love this one i

i want to challenge you to reach out to

users you don’t know

the great thing about social media is

that it is decentralized in nature

and allows for us to make connections

with folks from all over the world

this is important because you can

network and

collaborate with other like-minded

activists regardless of your location

geography is no longer a barrier and you

can amass a community

with just a few clicks so sure

it’s great to have one person share a

post about let’s say

signing a petition to ban fracking but

having

2 10 100 even 1 000 people share that

very same post

well that’s a movement not a moment

there is power in numbers and allyship

is key to getting there

finally number four and perhaps the most

important one

expect to learn and make mistakes

we will all make mistakes it’s a part of

continuing to educate ourselves

and grow as an ally even the most

experienced advocates have said

something wrong and i know i have

take a look back at what you’ve posted

before and learn from any past mistakes

you can use this moment to learn what

went wrong

and share what you learned with others

by educating yourself

you can help allies who may be

experiencing similar mishaps

it will be uncomfortable but it is

necessary to make meaningful progress in

the long run

i i never thought that i would be here

making a case for using social media

to raise awareness around climate change

but things have changed

our livelihoods are at stake scientific

evidence for warming of our climate

system

is unequivocal and as we’re bound

indoors by

the spread of a global pandemic and

spending more time

connecting online young people are

learning how to become more tactful with

their activism

and as we look forward to life after the

pandemic

and how we show up online we must ask

ourselves

this how are we being intentional with

our content

how are our actions contributing to the

greater good

and how am i adding to the conversation

are any of the above not reason enough

to engage as a climate activist

are you still questioning the validity

of social media as a tool for change

remember it’s what has caused

millions of youth to flood the streets

and protest

it’s what has created an online

community of thousands of climate

activists

at my fingertips and

it’s what has brought me here on the ted

stage today

you