After the influx of using social media to promote and spread awareness about different issues such as racially-motivated hate, cases of sexual harassment, third-world crises that the media fails to cover, and more, I’ve noticed something.

Clicking a couple of buttons doesn’t do anything, especially when you repost media that thousands of others have already shared. If you repost the same pink infographic about racism that everyone else has on their stories, I will assume that you’re participating out of courtesy, not genuine concern.

Using your platform to talk about issues that are not talked about anywhere else is a more productive way to help people in need.

Some are even using their posts to cover up their racism, sexism, and indifference, using it as a facade so that their peers don’t look down on them.

It’s the same as showing your condemnation of fast fashion and child labor, and then using online sites such as Romwe.com or even shopping at Nike.

This article from NYUNews.com, written by Gabby Lozano, says it perfectly, “The problem occurs when you retweet these supportive posts and then roll up to the Upstein Chick-fil-A to get your chicken sandwich with fries.” The posts mentioned by Lozano are in support of the LBGTQ+ community.

Performative activism gives off the same energy as complaining about something, and then continuing to do it anyways. Stop complaining and make a change.

The moral of the story is to actually practice what you preach. You can find many ways to actually make a difference, such as boycotting companies that use child labor. It’s as simple as buying your jeans from Levi’s instead of American Eagle.