SUSTAINABILITY IN THE TIMES OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Although the pandemic has been the most pressing issue in the past year, climate change has yet to take the back seat and is especially highlighted during Earth Day.

A recent tweet brought into light a harrowing point: What hope is there for climate change considering how governments have handled the pandemic? 

Sustainability has been the buzzword when it comes to easing climate change. Many people have opted for veganism, thrifting and using recyclable water bottles and bags. Sustainability has taken different meanings depending where you look. Many social media users flaunt their veganism or their green consumerism for the sake of climate change, but the truth of the matter is that glorifying a no-waste lifestyle on social media isn’t sustainable in the long run.

If Twitter can give us alarming takes on climate change, then other platforms like Instagram make sustainability and climate change more of an aesthetic to follow.

Instagram posts that are hash tagged with “sustainability” or “sustainable living” typically feature perfectly posed pictures of lush plants or sea creatures or someone blissfully enjoying nature followed by a caption describing how Earth is our only home. Albeit inspiring and easy on the eyes, this isn’t the reality of sustainability and much less climate change.

Sustainability is so much more than a photo op for the ‘Gram, but it also isn’t owning all eco-friendly everything.

Tik Tok, on the other hand, has been filling up their sustainability feed with easy hacks, tip and tricks that take the pressure off of being a perfectly sustainable human being. Many videos feature how to make your non-sustainables eco-friendly as well as DIYs and sustainable shopping tips.

The narrative that each social media platform displays toward climate change does make a big difference in how we perceive this looming issue.    

One thing that all narratives on every platform can agree on is this: climate change is not an individual problem, but more so a corporate one. Users on every platform call for big companies to reduce emissions and find sustainable materials for their products.

Companies, especially newer ones, have slowly shifted into more sustainable means for the sake of the planet. Although progression is slow, we must all continue to integrate sustainable habits into our everyday lives even if its just for the aesthetic or to spark intense threads on Twitter.