If there’s one thing our generation has a wealth of, it’s opportunity. Whether it is with politics, diversity, identity or a multitude of other things, this generation can use technology to learn and share knowledge with more ease than ever before.

Social media has become the biggest outlet for us to create change surrounding our ideas. We use our platforms to be outspoken, creative and to find communities.

In 2020, the death of George Floyd sparked one of the largest social justice movements to take place on social media. People on Instagram, Twitter and other platforms spread petitions, donation funds and stories of those who were unfairly incarcerated. This resulted in millions of people being able to access and act on information about police brutality and systematic racism like never before.

While social media opens doors of opportunity for us; it is also something to be careful about. Something that our generation as a whole can work on is researching and gaining a deeper understanding of topics before we widley express our opinions, rather than having a stance on something we know little about.

Online spaces make it easy for us to fall into filter bubbles where we are only exposed to opinions we already agree with. In a digital landscape, where much of what we share is permanent, it is important to seek out a variety of sources and opinions before coming to a conclusion on important topics.

Our generation struggles with letting go of culture wars and, instead, focusing on actionable ways to introduce change. It can be tempting and fun to argue online about the latest controversial headline, but remember that not all discourse is worth your attention. A lot of progressive thinking has come from those who take the time to identify the tangible roots of an issue and move forward in a responsible way rather than following the crowd.