Tumblr: A Virtual Metropolis Of Self Expression and Activism

Tumblr. A phenomenon that took the world by storm over night, its’ main purpose is to ‘let you effortlessly share anything’ from post text, photos, and quotes to links, music and videos from your browser (Tumblr, Inc.).

“Change at the Click of a Button” (Philosopher)

To the casual user, Tumblr might seem like the place that you have seen screen-shots of on Facebook or a place to find pictures of your favourite television star, but to long time users, such as myself, it is much more. Tumblr, in my eyes, is a free place of self-expression where you can talk about things such as inequality, identity, police brutality, racism, body shaming, sexuality and more.

John Allen writes, “Power, as I understand it, is a rational effect of social interaction.” (Allen, 2003) and in Tumblr’s case, nothing could be truer. It is a domain that allows such communities to do everything from important PSA’s, organising boycotts, to spreading awareness, and supporting one-another through hardships; driving home Allen’s association of power with geography.

These communities take form under titles like ‘fandoms’ and ‘sides’ where fans, hobbyists, professionals, aspiring artists, etc. congregate to shares ideas, works, and communicate. It is this ability to connect with each-other, this permeability if you will, that Howard Rheingold says is essential for the word ‘community’ to be applied to a virtual society (Turkle, 1995).

Its this permeability that allowed people from around the globe know and support the Ferguson movement, followed by the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Tumblr is a format that gives us “Millennials” a voice that can be heard and that can be acted upon.  The New York Times goes into the concept of virtual activism more in depth.

Tumblr is, at the end of the day, a metropolis of humor, self-expression, art, education and activism with the growing communal power to sway a country.

 

Allen, J. (2003). Lost Geographies of Power. Blackwell Publishing.

Philosopher, P. (n.d.). Social Media Activism – The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted. Retrieved August 12, 2016, from Wordpress: https://pseudophilosoph.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/social-media-activism-the-revolution-will-not-be-tweeted/

Tumblr, Inc. (n.d.). About | Tumblr. Retrieved August 12, 2016, from Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/about

Turkle, S. (1995). Life on The Screen: Identity in The Age of The Internet. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.