In the wake of a landmark Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage a right nationwide, a whopping 26 million people slapped a rainbow flag over their Facebook photos to "celebrate pride."
The movement, fomented by a photo-editing tool that Facebook launched Friday, is a response to major news events that we've seen before: Profile picture change campaigns have become as common as cat videos on certain social networks.
There were green filters for Iranian protesters in 2009, yellow ribbons for Hong Kong in 2014, black dots to oppose sexual violence in India, Arabic "Ns" to support Iraqi Christians.
Famously, in 2013, the LGBT rights group Human Rights Campaign got several million Facebook users to change their picture to its logo, a coup the organization was quick to describe as "a transformative moment for equality."
But now, as then, one big question remains: Does changing your profile picture ever actually transform anything?
On first glance, of course, the answer would appear to be "no": The momentary, risk-less act of editing my profile picture is decidedly not what persuaded five Supreme Court justices to side with marriage equality. And the flicker of colorful squares in the News Feed is not what will, say, end workplace discrimination against LGBT people in 29 U.S. states.
"Profile picture campaigns are effective in showing the friends and family in your social network that you have some affinity for a political candidate or cause," said Philip Howard, a sociologist at the University of Washington and the director of the Digital Activism Research Project. "... Policy changes are not usually the outcome."
But wait! Marriage equality, like so many thorny issues, is not just about policy change. It's also, crucially, about changing social attitudes toward an entire group of people. And it's here that there could be a real role for social media campaigns.
See, our social attitudes are informed largely by what we believe is standard or acceptable in our social group as a whole. And every day, whether we realize it or not, we receive lots of different messages on these norms: some unspoken (I can't come to work naked), some based in law (I can't kill even my most-hated commenters), some very literal ("buckle up," "just say no").
Profile pictures, arguably, are a very particular and effective type of message. They don't dictate how you should or must behave, as laws and PSAs typically do; instead, they simply tell you how your peers are behaving. In other words, they support marriage equality; why don't you?
"When people try to change behavior, they often focus on ... telling people what they should do," the social psychologist Melanie Tannenbaum explained in 2013. "We often underestimate just how strongly we respond to what other people actually do."
Case in point? Facebook itself has found that people tend to change their profile pictures in response to their friends' picture changes: In a paper on the HRC's 2013 campaign, published this February, Facebook data scientists found that users were more likely to adopt the equal-sign icon if they saw multiple friends doing so. The more friends they saw, up to a point, the more likely they were to change. That social influence was more of a factor, in fact, than even religion, politics or age.
There are nuances here, of course: For better or worse, the mere sight of a rainbow-tinged photo will not zap the homophobes among us. People tend to be persuaded more by this type of normative social influence when the group asserting those norms is close to them, for instance, and personally important. If I use Facebook only to keep up with half-forgotten high school friends, all the rainbow pictures in the world aren't likely to do much.
Howard, the UW sociologist, also points out that individuals tend to self-select friends who share their views. In other words, if I'm the type of person who's inclined to support equal marriage, my Facebook friends probably are already, too.
"Still," Howard said, "openly declaring your support for gay marriage or dissatisfaction with modern policing (on social media) can create a brief moment where people who see the image have to think about the issue."
And if they don't have a clear opinion, or see that image many times, it could — potentially! gradually! — shift their social views.
The Washington Post
Tue Jun 30 2015
Profile picture change campaigns have become as common as cat videos on certain social networks.
Kemenangan di PRK KKB akan jadi manifestasi perpaduan - Ahmad Maslan
Kemenangan calon PH pada PRK DUN KKB, 11 Mei ini akan menjadi manifestasi perpaduan BN dan PH dalam menghadapi PRK lain, sekiranya diadakan pada masa depan.
Piala Thomas: Malaysia jinakkan Jepun untuk mara ke separuh akhir
Malaysia mara ke separuh akhir Piala Thomas 2024 selepas menundukkan Jepun 3-1 dalam perlawanan yang berlangsung di Gimnasium Pusat Sukan Hi-Tech, Chengdu, China.
Pembinaan Hospital Angkatan Tentera Kem Terendak bermula Julai ini
Pembinaan bangunan baharu Hospital Angkatan Tentera Kem Terendak di sini akan bermula pada Julai depan dan dijangka siap pada 2028, menurut Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
Saifuddin Nasution akui perlu baiki isu di pintu masuk negara, bakal umum perubahan
Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail mengakui terdapat ruang yang boleh ditambah baik berhubung isu kesesakan di pintu masuk negara.
Program MADANI Rakyat 2024 Zon Utara bermula esok, 196 perkhidmatan disediakan
Platform untuk memberi peluang kepada masyarakat setempat memahami dan menilai dasar serta inisiatif baharu dilaksanakan kerajaan.
AWANI 7:45 [02/05/2024] - Jaminan lulus dengan bergaya | Reformasi sistem pendidikan | RM10.5 bilion tempoh empat tahun | Fail afidavit betulkan fakta
#AWANI745 malam ini bersama Jasmine Abu Bakar;
1. Humban siapa yang bantah kenaikan gaji penjawat awam
2. Sebelum Bank Dunia lapor, kementerian sudah ambil tindakan, kata Fadhlina
3. Microsoft labur RM10.5 bilion, peluang generasi muda teroka keselamatan siber
4. Mahkamah Tinggi tolak permohonan Tengku Zafrul
1. Humban siapa yang bantah kenaikan gaji penjawat awam
2. Sebelum Bank Dunia lapor, kementerian sudah ambil tindakan, kata Fadhlina
3. Microsoft labur RM10.5 bilion, peluang generasi muda teroka keselamatan siber
4. Mahkamah Tinggi tolak permohonan Tengku Zafrul
Kerajaan Negeri, Persekutuan perlu lebih fokus noktahkan miskin tegar di Kelantan - Anwar
Kerajaan Negeri Kelantan dan kementerian berkaitan perlu lebih fokus dalam usaha menoktahkan miskin tegar di negeri itu, kata Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Ringgit melantun semula untuk ditutup tinggi berbanding dolar AS
Pada 6 petang, ringgit meningkat kepada 4.7535/7555 berbanding dolar AS daripada paras penutup 4.7700/7750 pada Selasa.
Pasaran getah ditutup bercampur-campur, jejaki pasaran serantau
Pada 5 petang, harga penutup LGM bagi GMM 20 berada pada 755.5 sen sekilogram manakala susu getah pukal pada 716 sen sekilogram.
Perkhidmatan jet di Subang mula beroperasi pada suku ketiga 2024 - Menteri Pengangkutan
Perkhidmatan jet di Lapangan Terbang Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (LTSAAS) di Subang akan mula beroperasi pada suku ketiga tahun ini, kata Menteri Pengangkutan Anthony Loke.
Terima anugerah Reader's Digest buat kali kelima, Ahmad Zahid ucap tahniah kepada Kemas
Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi mengucapkan tahniah kepada Jabatan Kemajuan Masyarakat (Kemas) yang meraih Anugerah Jenama Paling Dipercayai buat kali kelima bagi kategori Pu
AIM menang Anugerah Industri Kewangan Islam Global
AIM memenangi anugerah Islamic Finance News apabila dinobat IFN Best Islamic Microfinance Institution, serta menerima dua anugerah di bawah Global Good Governance Awards (3G).
Pulau Pinang akan bincang, teliti kenaikan gaji penjawat awam negeri - Chow
Kerajaan Pulau Pinang akan membincangkan mengenai kenaikan gaji penjawat awam di negeri itu pada Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri akan datang, menurut Ketua Menteri Chow Kon Yeow.
Jambatan Bailey di Jalan Kuantan-Segamat dibuka semula hari ini
Jambatan Bailey di Seksyen 102 Jalan Kuantan-Segamat yang ditutup sebelum ini untuk kerja-kerja pembaikan dibuka semula bermula 4 petang tadi.
Pengguna Facebook, Instagram luang 60% masa menonton video
Menurut Meta, kini pengguna meluangkan 60% daripada masa penggunaan di platform berkenaan dengan menonton video.
Semua pihak diminta siap siaga, segera salurkan bantuan mangsa banjir - Ab Rauf
Wakil rakyat dan agensi berkaitan termasuk pihak berkuasa tempatan diarahkan supaya siap siaga dan menyalurkan bantuan awal kepada semua mangsa yang terjejas akibat banjir terutama di Alor Gajah.
'Bila boss?' - Sian See tuntut janji Rafizi
Pempengaruh media sosial, Lim Sian See memberi peringatan kepada Menteri Ekonomi, Rafizi Ramli berhubung jemputan untuk muncul dalam program podcast 'berjudul, ang Bakar Menteri'.
Hina Raja Perlis, peniaga dihadap ke mahkamah
Seorang peniaga dihadapkan ke Mahkamah Sesyen, di sini hari ini atas kesalahan menghantar perkhidmatan komunikasi jelik mengenai Raja Perlis di laman Facebook pada Mac lalu.
Kerajaan pantau konflik Asia Barat, pastikan keselamatan rakyat terjamin - PM Anwar
Kerajaan akan terus memantau dengan teliti perkembangan konflik di Asia Barat dan mengambil langkah-langkah proaktif untuk memastikan keselamatan rakyat Malaysia, sentiasa terjamin.
Facebook pernah pertimbang bayar pengguna untuk data penggunaan
Facebook dikatakan pernah suatu ketika dahulu mempertimbangkan untuk membayar pengguna yang menggunakan platform berkenaan. Namun, idea berkenaan ditolak dan tidak diteruskan.