The Role of the Internet in Shaping the Growth of Feminism

The internet plays an unavoidably significant role in influencing our daily lives. Whether it's by impacting our social communication or by delivering global knowledge, the internet is a huge element of social growth and change.

Invariably, it is because of the internet that the concepts and ideas of feminism have rapidly grown and developed. The fight of feminists to influence the media's agenda and communication procedures is nothing new. Social media provides a platform for everyone to speak, to voice their opinion on the misogyny that they face even today. A particularly noteworthy aspect of the internet and social media, now more than ever is that it has provided a safe space for people to open up about the kind of bigotry that they have faced, helping women feel that they aren’t alone in their struggles while providing a general sense of security in the fact that there is a world full of people who are determined to overcome and abolish the patriarchy. Of course, the biggest and best example weighing in would be the very famous #MeTooMovement. It was created to assist women in standing up fearlessly and healing themselves. Its goal was to encourage people to defend themselves against sexual harassment or assault. The movement turned out to be one of the biggest feminist activist movements.

In our current media dominated society, each person's opinion is visibly expressed through just a swipe or a click. Youth organisations and other activist movements seem to be only a drop in the bucket of what I believe will soon spread out into something even bigger. Several different actresses and public figures such as Jameela Jamil and Emma Watson have taken an extremely strong and considerable stance on feminism, Jamil having started a whole social media movement boosting body positivity and self-worth while Watson has been a supporter of the UN Women's HeForShe Campaign and was an ambassador for it. It is the media that heightened the fame and popularity of both of these events. Their own opinions have drastically increased the support for feminism.

Furthermore, there is the feminist networking process. One of the great accomplishments of networking on the Internet is establishing a new frontier for what is referred to as fourth-wave feminism and allowing it to grow. The current wave is mostly driven by feminists networking on social media from all over the world, representing many cultures and races. This has resulted in a worldwide phenomenon that promotes unity and discussion of common experiences. While one person's definition of "feminism" may differ from another's, all supporters of these groups and ideas have the same objective of deconstructing the present patriarchal societal framework, in which males have primary authority and higher social advantages than women. There are feminist organisations and online feminist forums that serve as a virtual sanctuary for millions of feminists throughout the world. Networking assists in the formation of a community that resists oppression of any type and aids in the initiation of much-needed debates that were not common in the past, particularly in our nation. Hashtags have become a critical component in the progress of networked feminism and the majority of social media activist groups. Because one can search for a hashtag and retrieve a list of messages that contain it, hashtags may be used to organise such communications.

The best thing about the internet is probably how versatile it is. One can voice their problems not just by making videos or writing articles about it. With the advancement of technology and the growth of our generation as a whole, a variety of ways and conventions may be used to transmit messages, each of which is equally effective. These diverse ideals of feminism may be explored through art and even fashion. By conceptualising and understanding one's audience, the internet is the best place for one to express their views on the same.

Unfortunately, however, just as everything has another side, feminism in the media does, too. The link between women's rights and the internet has shown to be quite contradictory: social media has also become a hostile environment for women, posing significant risks. Trolls, online harassment, and gender violence practices disproportionately harm women. Violence against women has taken on many different forms. In a world where we fluidly navigate the internet and real world on a daily basis, frequently being in both areas at the same time, it's critical that we confront the violence that women confront in both domains. Online violence is real violence. Shamefully, along with the misogyny we face, the violence faced by females online is also something that we need to address collectively. While cyber-violence against women is a regular occurrence on the Internet, social media platforms, in particular, may be effective tools in the battle against this scourge.

I believe that the only reason that feminism is as widespread as it is today is only because of the media. People’s beliefs are what dominate it and the internet is the best way to truly express them. Twitter and Instagram threads, although short, are particularly impactful in opening one’s minds and eyes in the face of feminism. It is through media that I am educated about the different happenings and events that revolve around feminist activities. It has a network, or a chain of knowledge, that extends around the world, allowing individuals to properly educate themselves and become aware of a variety of situations. It has been shown that women's online influence is easier to equalise. With various viewpoints, social media can be used to be more inclusive of women's voices, thus helping to elevate and establish the value of women's voices.