by Ryan Wong
Youth-led activism is not, by any means, a new thing. When turning points in the history of oppressed communities such as the Stonewall riots or the downfall of the Nazi regime are brought up, we often redirect our attention from the underbelly of youth in these revolutions to focus on a select few figures instrumental to their orchestration. What we forget when we do so is that youths, specifically teenagers and young adults who have faced discrimination at the hands of the oppressing party, were the driving force behind many of these upheavals; the weight of their actions still felt years and even decades later. Like dandelion seeds blown into the wind, the courage to stand against injustice, once planted, will spread its roots across the earth with each era that passes.
Take the aforementioned collapse of Nazi Germany for example. In June 1942, three years before Hitler’s defeat, siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl joined alongside students from the University of Munich to form the White Rose: a non-violent resistance group that distributed anti-Nazi pamphlets across the city. Although the group was later disbanded in February 1943 following the arrest and execution of the Scholls and member Christoph Probst, it had succeeded in destabilizing the regime and reigniting fellow resistance groups who had been demoralized by the German people’s unwavering reverence towards the regime. Today, the Scholls are remembered as symbols of resistance—their anger, bravery, and hope permeating across generations as both a rally and a warning.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and with the advent of social media, young activists like Malala Yousafzai and Mari Copeny (otherwise known as Little Miss Flint) have been able to share their stories and document their lives with an audience of people around the world, inspiring countless children, teenagers, and young adults alike to take a stand for the causes they believe in.
And whilst youth activism has come a long way since the Second World War, it has seemingly exploded in scale within these last few years alone. Most notably, following environmental activist Greta Thunberg’s viral protest outside the Swedish parliament and speech at the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference, widespread student-led strikes began to take place worldwide, increasing in frequency and magnitude to culminate in the 2019 Global Week for Future: a series of global strikes in which millions of students across 150 countries took to the streets in September to demand action against climate change and fossil fuel use from their respective governments.
This year, the emergence of the Stop Asian Hate campaign in response to escalating violence against Asian Americans amidst the pandemic, as well as the outpour of support for the Free Palestine movement following the planned eviction of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah and airstrikes on Gaza, are just two examples among many of how involved the younger generation has become in activism compared to as recently as the past decade. Why is this the case?
For one, this surge can be attributed to the increased accessibility of global news. Despite social media itself having existed for some time, it hasn’t been until lately that these apps—particularly Instagram and the relatively new TikTok—have taken on a new dimension. Arguably beginning in late 2017 with the online spread of the #MeToo movement following sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the transformation of these apps from being highlight reels of its users’ lives to platforms for updates of contemporary issues; whilst gradual at first, has become more and more apparent following the rising number of youth brave enough to step forward. As we’ve seen with Greta Thunberg, Malala, and the White Rose, all it takes is one person or group to thrust the cause into the spotlight, creating a ripple effect irrespective of time zones and postal codes.
This ripple, originating from a single point and spreading out in a process akin to nuclear fission and domino effects, is the reason why the landscapes of our social media timelines have changed so much in so little time. As a larger portion of Gen Z becomes aware of current happenings around the world, a greater number of posts explaining “what’s going on and how you can help” are made and shared, reaching even more people and thus continuing the chain in the span of a few clicks or taps on a screen.
The ease and speed at which information is passed on—be it in the form of story updates, TikTok videos, Twitter threads, Carrd pages, or Instagram infographics—allows users of all ages to find out and react within hours or even minutes. This is especially true for sites like Twitter and TikTok, where trending keywords are highlighted for everyone to see. The faster people are made aware, the faster a collective response such as a petition, crowdfunder, or protest can be organized, which, in some cases, can spell the difference between life and death.
But there are, of course, downsides to the meteoric rise of youth activism as well. Perhaps the most outstanding negative is the dissemination of misinformation, especially on platforms like TikTok, where users tend to accept every informative video they see as fact without bothering to check its credibility. Aside from this, many youths enthusiastic about supporting a cause can oftentimes end up speaking over the affected communities instead of amplifying their voices, effectively defeating the purpose of raising awareness in the first place.
Regardless of whether or not this is unintentional, it further strains the threads linking people who are disproportionately targeted to the rest of society, making them feel unseen and unheard by the loud majority even if it genuinely wants to help. Ultimately, it boils down to a misunderstanding of what it means to support a cause, especially one that involves communities facing persecution: uplift and aid those who speak up without drowning them out in the process. As long as those eager to contribute to change keep this in mind, the activism they carry out will make a difference without putting down the victims of the system they wish to overturn.
Youth activism, more often than not, starts small. Besides staying informed and sharing the news, it can be as simple as calling out a family member for a racist remark, or explaining to a friend why the “war” between Israel and Palestine isn’t a war at all, but instead an Israeli campaign to colonize and ethnically cleanse the Palestinians and their land. From there, and if circumstances allow, partaking in peaceful protests or signing open letters to local mayors, ministers, and managers, though not guaranteed to succeed, leaves an indent. A crack in the beaten path that, if further irritated, can fracture to make way for even pavement. The fact of the matter is, in this day and age, youth-led activism has more power than ever to change things, be it school policies, unpaid internships, environmental regulations, or even election results.
With every global conflict or tragedy that occurs, a tidal wave helmed by more and more youths rises to meet it head-on, spreading their influence down the wave and through the rest of the ocean in a determined, impassioned cascade. Like dandelion seeds blown into the wind, all it takes is a single point of resistance and a sharp gust against the status quo to propagate a garden in which no flower is left out of the sun.