Size matters not: Part 2
(This is the second part of a three/four-part series, part one is here)
In Part 1 we discussed the idea of thinking small scale when it comes to climate action. We talked about rethinking our definition of change and what making a difference looks like. I want to continue down that path in this part and focus on one area in which we can apply that philosophy. In this entry, I want to discuss small actions and social media.
More than half of us worldwide have some form of social media profile today, from Twitter and TikTok to LinkedIn and more. We have networks of people who follow us and who we follow and these networks are perfect places to get started in climate action. The people in our networks are (typically) people we trust, people whose content we want to see, and people who want to know what we are up to. This gives us an advantage compared to shouting on the street corner or in the depths of some Reddit thread; we already have an audience of people who have opted to hear or read what we have to say and we should not take that for granted. In fact, due to the closeness that we have with our networks, we may even be in a unique position to change the minds of a few people that movement leaders like Greta Thunberg or Al Gore cannot, due to the very polarized ideas that some people have about them.
What can you do for the climate on Instagram or Facebook? Well, your social media accounts are a great place to post design work; that recyclable packaging project you worked on, the branding for a new sustainably-powered business you designed, the illustration you made for an NGO. We tend to think about social media as a tool to show everyone our everyday lives, and that’s true, but along with the latest photos of our dogs, our social posts can be a great spot to display our values as it comes to climate change. Post what you are reading, what you are designing, what you are thinking; when you share what you do and see, it makes your followers aware of those things too. And be generous: share the work of others! A retweet is free of charge and that artist needs the exposure just as much as you do; we can’t afford to be devoted only to our own work when the scale of climate change is global. The benefit of working small is that we have room to build community and camaraderie—and given that our actions and projects are small and localized in nature, it means that we have to depend on and trust that community.
This global outlook, the reminder that our work is a part of the tapestry of international climate action is what allows us to not get burnt out. We have other people’s backs and they have ours as well. Remember, there are no leaders without followers—both are equally important. Don’t be afraid to shout to the rooftops about work that you love because that is how momentum is made. Don’t discount the impact of just a simple share—there are no viral posts without social media algorithms and those algorithms don’t put your posts in front of new users without your network’s engagement.
The images and videos that we post on our accounts may very well end up in front of many more eyes than we might expect, but it also may mean that just a few people who would never have paid any mind to a big, global, far away organization will see the effort and care that you put into your work and that can make all the difference. So what we need to do now is look at how we define what “change” is. How do we do that? Well, first, let’s rethink our definition of action; as we’ve seen, action isn’t just leading a climate march or passing a national law—action can be liking a post, giving a status update, or even sharing a meme. We should not measure an action by how large its impact is, but by how meaningful its results are.
I want to share a quote from Sarah Jacquette Ray’s book A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety and though it is a little long, but I think it is worth quoting at length:
“Yet there is action in things that we are not accustomed to thinking of as arenas of social change. Is changing somebody else’s mind an ‘action’? Is changing your own mind an action? Is inaction ever an important form of action? What assumptions shape our ideas of what counts as meaningful action, and what we do to perpetuate them? For example, adrienne maree brown suggests that the need for dramatic, visible action is a symptom of patriarchy. To fetishize action and reject the less visible and less glamorous work of caregiving, community organizing, or going to meetings is to subscribe to a gendered view of the kind of work that matters.”
So, you can see that action comes in many shapes and forms. Action is not made valid by its size, so neither should we think that meaningful “change” is only made when many people are affected. There is no action too small to be valid, so by definition, there is no change that is too small to count.
So, call to (small) action time:
What do you use your social media for? Are there things you could add that might light the way for some of your climate-skeptical or climate-unconcerned friends, followers, connections, etc.? Who are some designers (or non-designers) doing small projects that we should be following? Let us know over on our Mighty Networks site.
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Matt McGillvray
Matt is a designer and illustrator living near Portland, Maine, and has been working for more than a decade doing branding, illustration, web design, print design, social media posts, and even a little SEO.
When not designing he’s usually reading, writing, or running. His current big writing project is a book about design and climate change. He is a chronic teller of puns and will not apologize for that.