These days, when tragedy strikes or a divisive political issue makes headlines, ordinary people, along with celebrities and corporations, are often expected to post their reactions on social media. Have you felt this pressure with any recent event, perhaps after a school shooting, during the Black Lives Matter protests or now, during the Israel-Hamas war?
Do you think expressing your opinion publicly is important in times like these?
In “I Don’t Have to Post About My Outrage. Neither Do You.” Elizabeth Spiers, a contributing Opinion writer, argues that not posting may sometimes be the wisest choice:
I am neither Jewish nor Palestinian, and none of my six regular gigs have anything to do with foreign policy, but the other day I opened Twitter (now called X) after some time offline to find people I don’t know demanding that I make a public statement about what’s happening in the Middle East. It seemed that most of the people on social media had made a statement, including various corporate brands, celebrities and miscellaneous lifestyle influencers. American Eagle’s chief marketing officer posted to LinkedIn that the company had changed its Times Square billboard to an image of the Israeli flag. “Praying for Israel,” Justin Bieber posted on Instagram, over an image (later deleted) of what was actually Gaza.
But not everyone was taking a side. As I scrolled through my timeline, I saw lots of random citizens being told that if they didn’t speak out, they, too, would have blood on their hands.
People speaking from both the right and the left seemed to attribute my silence to depraved indifference to human suffering, though they were divided on which humans were suffering. As it happens, I had been dealing with shingles (zero stars, do not recommend) and the depression I struggle with periodically. I was tired and overwhelmed, as are a great many other people. But the voices yelling at me and anyone else who failed to post seemed to believe that not making a statement was itself a statement — and an immoral one, at that.
There’s a facile version of taking a stand on social media that generates righteous back patting but reduces complex issues to a simple yes or no. Taking simplistic stands can also lead to twisting words. Concern for Palestinians is portrayed as support for Hamas or hatred toward Israel or Jews in general. Anger about Hamas’s deadly attacks on Israeli citizens — or any mention of antisemitism — is portrayed as denigrating the dignity of all Palestinian lives. This kind of thinking is deeply unserious and further fuels hostilities, warping nuanced positions into extremism and mistaking tweet-length expressions of outrage for brave action in the face of atrocity.
Ms. Spiers continues:
Knee-jerk social media posts are not what bother me most, though. Instead, it’s the idea that not posting is wrong somehow — that everyone needs to speak, all the time. It discourages shutting up and listening and letting the voices that matter the most be heard over the din. It implies it’s not OK to have any uncertainty about what’s going on or any kind of moral analysis that does not lend itself to presentation in a social media post. It does not leave time or space for people to process traumatic events in the sanctuary of their own minds or to gather more information before pronouncing a judgment. It pressures people who don’t have an opinion yet or are working out what they think to manufacture one and present it to a jury of total strangers on the internet who will render an instant verdict on its propriety.
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
In the wake of big and emotionally charged news events, such as the Israel-Hamas War, have you felt pressured to post your reaction online? To express outrage or sympathy? To take a stance or a side? What is that like for you?
If you don’t feel pressure to post online, what about among your peers? In this conflict, or others, have those around you asked that you make your opinion known? How do you feel about this expectation?
What are your thoughts on the author’s argument? Do you agree that not everyone has to share their outrage publicly? Or do you believe that not expressing an opinion is wrong? Explain.
In times like these, do you expect companies or celebrities to make a statement on where they stand? Do you find these statements helpful? Why or why not? If not, whom do you want to hear from?
Think of a time when you chose to publicly take a stand or not in response to a world event or a divisive issue. How did you make that decision? What was the outcome? Looking back, would you have made a different choice? Why or why not?
(Please note, we are not asking you to share your thoughts or opinions on the Israel-Hamas War here. If you would like to say more about the conflict, you can go to our related post The Israel-Hamas War: A Forum for Young People to React.)
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
