Lindsey Komson

Featured image from invisiblechildren.com

Social media is a key catalyst for doing good in the world, and the Kony 2012 campaign is a prime example of that.

I had never seen or heard of the Kony 2012 campaign until this week. I was in 4^th grade at the time, and probably just learned what Instagram was, let alone viral campaigns and news stories.

Watching the Kony 2012 documentary impacted me emotionally in ways I didn’t expect. Again, I had never heard of the campaign, so I wasn’t sure what I was watching, but it hit me right in the heart from the very beginning.

I thought it was very profound how filmmaker Jason Russell used his son to demonstrate two important points:

1. The point he made in the very beginning of the film about how every person in the world is born into different circumstances. As much as people have control of their lives, there’s only so much that can be controlled. Jacob, the main figure in the documentary, was born in Uganda and was born into an incredibly scary and unfortunate situation. Gavin, Jason’s son, was born in the US into a (from what we could see) comfortable financial and social situation. Both Jacob and Gavin are great people, but only one was set up to succeed from birth.
   
   
2. Anyone can have compassion for those in trouble, no matter their age or background. Gavin was very young during the filming of this documentary, and Jason used photos to explain to Gavin that Joseph Kony was a “bad guy” who used his power to steal children like “his friend” Jacob from their families and turn them to violence. If Gavin, a very young kid, could understand that circumstance, question why, and agree that there needs to be a change in the world, then anyone should be able to.

The Kony 2012 campaign gained worldwide traction because of people’s participation on several mediums, but let’s talk about social media.

By sharing the film, Joseph Kony’s name, and other campaign-related information on social media, it allowed Invisible Children (the nonprofit that produced the documentary) to spread their message and get more people involved in making change.

So what can we learn from the Kony 2012 campaign in terms of using social media for good?

It’s clear that when you have a cause and a message, anything is possible on social media. When used correctly, it’s an incredible tool to introduce people to a cause, encourage them to contribute, and flood people’s screens and minds with important world issues.

Kony 2012 teaches us that social media is a key tool to do good in the world – it’s all about the people who use it and the strategy behind it.