The Issue with Instagram’s Infographics and Its Performative Activism

 by Isobel Geddes

Overall, the majority of infographic creators on social media probably have good intentions upon creation, but my emphasis today is on the fact that intention is different to impact. Infographics have become a staple for sharing resources across social media due to their efficiency and ability to break down information into digestible and easily accessible pieces. They offer resources for activists and give people the opportunity to genuinely learn through them, such as the history behind certain events or how to get involved in movements and protests. The sheer volume of such infographics is likely to have reached people that were perhaps more ignorant and led them to recognise the privilege they may have and the oppression others face. Of course, these infographics can't be expected to solve all problems, such as the systemic racism we see in society, which leads me to the issues regarding so many of them. 

Firstly, it is very easy for the sharing of these posts to lead to cases of performative activism: the illusion of making change without actively committing to it. If someone isn't talking about the matters behind these infographics, or actively taking action and participating in conversations, then their silence is what says the most. Referring to BLM specifically, we saw many influencers share links in their bios to resources and ways to help the movement, but with such large followings their feeds become more and more impersonal to the point it felt like a trend for everyone to follow. However, this isn't the only type of performative activism. Unfortunately, it is the people who only post and share because they know that they can benefit from it who are the worst, whether it be by gaining followers or another means. These two types combined bring into question the subject of how reposting these infographics is actually the bare minimum and we all should be seeking to do more. In most of these infographics, there are resources and suggestions for who to support but in the world of social media it is difficult to measure how many are actually following this advice. If this brings up a concern that your activism may come across as performative activism, when in fact you are doing a lot more than that, then there isn't anything to worry about because at least you yourself know that you are supporting your virtue. 

In the summer of 2020, Instagram was inundated with various infographics concerning BLM (although overall the focus is on infographics as a whole and not infographics focusing on one particular social issue) to the point that I, and I'm sure many others too, were constantly seeing the same few posts regulated on everyone's stories. At first this seems encouraging - everyone is united and playing their part in being increasingly aware and more educated; it soon leads to a slight feeling of unease. Whilst at surface level it is arguably understandable that some of the prettiest infographics are the ones that are shared the most - after all, they attract attention and may encourage more people to read them - it also leads to a number of concerning perspectives. It brings up the question as to why people are really sharing these posts: do they actually read them or are they simply being shared because they fit their feed? 

And furthermore, it brings me to question if we should even be trying to make activism aesthetic in the first place. Whilst I acknowledge the wide response and sheer level of interactions it may receive, it also expresses concern for the society we are living in. If we only really feel comfortable engaging with activism when it is a brightly coloured, nicely laid out, 1080x1080 digital image, surely this suggests something about us? They may have started out with good intentions but it gets to the point where it can be said that the aesthetic starts to matter more than the content of the post. In a world where we can scroll through several hundreds of thousands of posts of information on social media, it is easy to become numb to what we are actually seeing. Infographics are having to fight to become the prettiest in order to be seen and shared, which leads to the issue of oversimplifying: it is very easy for misinformation as a result to be spread rapidly across social media. My emphasis today is for us all to focus on our motives behind posting these infographics. Are we posting these mindlessly in an attempt to ‘tick a box’ to make ourselves seem supportive and involved? Are we posting them because they just fit our feeds and look aesthetic? Or do we actually care about what the information they have to offer, and are actively taking part in being an ally and getting involved beyond the digital world of Instagram?