The Death of Social Media

Why it Isn’t Going to Happen

I stumbled upon an article recently claiming the death of social media was coming. I disagree. Strongly.

Social Media, will never die. Not really, It may come back in a new form. A new site, a new something. But I think honestly, we’ve gotten to the point where social media is here to stay.

I hear the comments, I know people scoff as they consider clicking away but hear me out for a moment. What if there is more to social media than the average person could see?

There is a divide on social media, just like there is off of it. The average person who lives comfortably in their own bubble.. and those that don’t.

Those that don’t are often the disabled. The underemployed, the poor, marginalized, the abandoned.

Social media, or more specifically , Twitter, is more than just shooting off some witty nugget that comes to mind or posting pet photos for some. (Though to be fair, we love those pet pictures so keep them coming!)

Anyone who thinks otherwise, either doesn’t know how to use it, or has never relied on social media for the social part. Or maybe they’re just not disabled. But disabled people know social media. They don’t have the option to not know it. For many it is their social. It’s how they connect to the world, to people like themselves, and to mutual aid.

This is especially true for disabled people who find their ability to leave their homes impacted by things like transportation, illness, accessibility or weather. Which is essentially all of us at some point.

I know, I am one of those people. Winter in Canada, I am home more often then not. The same can be said for Autumn because often we have snow. But also, I am a hundred pounds soaking wet so windy days are a safety hazard. Mobility aid or not, that wind can make me fly. Then there is high pain days where I can barely move.

Social media allows me to connect to the world around me. It lets me connect to others with my disability where we share tips, ideas, and advice about what could be coming with age. I say could because no one knows. No two disabilities are the same. It also allows us to support each other, when things get hard and believe me they get hard.

I’m one of the luckier ones but still it’s hard. Disabled twitter, and it’s hashtags are not for the faint of heart. People are hurting, they’re lonely, they’re isolated and often they’re starving.

Social media connects people. It builds communities, and gives people a voice. As with anything there is a dark side. But for the most part, it’s a welcoming place and a place to find people you don’t have to hide from. They know, everything you’re going through, they know how hard it is. They know all the things that you’re not saying because those unspoken things are a part of them too.

The idea that social media could die, means that the connection that disabled people have to the world could end. That could mean death for some of them. They rely on things like mutual aid to survive. Food banks can only provide so much. Food banks aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be either. A few minutes on #pwd hash tags and looking at disabled twitter and the truth comes out about food banks. More often than not, the food they get is rotting. Moldy.

But what choice do they have? They eat what they can save and toss the rest otherwise they don’t eat. This is why all of them have wish lists. But their wish list looks nothing like the average wish list.

Their lists are necessities. Food, medicine, personal products. Many go with out month after month because pennies only spread so far. Most have to chose between paying rent and eating. It’s easier to go hungry when you have a roof over your head and you’re not worrying about freezing to death, or being assaulted by police because city officials have made it a crime to be homeless.

Provincial parties end rent control, end subsidies and slash funding. All the while knowing that new housing isn’t being built. Not at the rate we need it to be. Instead leaders focus on the buyers market.

Shelters are beyond capacity. So where does that leave everyone else? Encampments are torn down, homeless people are assaulted by people paid to “protect” they freeze to death in bus shelters trying to find a way out of the cold because shelters have no beds and any extra beds that can be found in pop up shelters are gone before most know they exist.

The thing people don’t realize is a large portion of the homeless population are disabled. Struggling to survive because once your homeless, that money that you would have to find housing gets taken away. You can’t find housing if you don’t have money and you can’t get the money if you don’t have housing.

This is why social media is so important. Disabled people live with the constant threat of homelessness. Most have been homeless more than once. They know the truth of what our leaders fight so desperately to hide.

That is where twitter comes in again. It’s the place where people can find an ally. People to stand with them to fight the fight. To try to force the change. It isn’t just disabled issues though those have begun to finally see more light. It’s a place for all the issues.

Social media won’t die, because until people come together and say enough is enough and force the change, by using their voices, and their votes, there will always be a need for social media. A place for people to come together for a call to action but also for survival.