I know some are going to argue with me on this one, but hear me out before you do.

To be more clear, I’m specifically talking about the power of when people change their profile pictures to represent a group of individuals or an idea. According to the Washington Post, more than 26 million people on Facebook changed their profile picture to a rainbow flag in support of same-sex marriage and last November when millions changed their profile pictures to the French flag to send sympathy and hope for justice from the Paris attacks. That is the kind of activism I’m talking about.

Activism is the action of campaigning wholeheartedly with the determination to bring about change. This can be directly related to political or social issues. I mean, let’s be real here. The word itself has “act” in it which means to be the doer of an action, so it’s a pretty simplistic idea.

I believe with all my heart that the words "social media activism" should not be in the same sentence together. “Social media” is something done online and “activism” is done in the real world. They’re both terms contradicting each other making it somewhat of an oxymoron.

Let’s nibble on this for a bit: is changing your profile picture truly activism?

No. Social media users change their profile picture because they have an opinion about the matter or everyone else is doing it as well. In general, very few individuals who do have an opinion actually go out and campaign for the idea or against the idea. Therefore, just because you change your profile picture to support a movement doesn’t make you an activist. Your support by doing that isn’t campaigning and it isn’t truly making a change. It’s just another post all your friends are going to see lurking in their newsfeed.

It’s a trend that fades away pretty quickly, then what? What’s the point of that? Did it truly do anything? Did it change truth? No.

Although showing your support by changing your profile picture makes friends and family aware that you are opinionated towards an idea, it doesn’t go beyond that. In fact, research shows that people who do this type of “media activism” are less likely to donate or campaign in the real world and Facebook even said that users who do change their profile pictures only do it because everyone else is doing it.

My high school Civics teacher had a poster hanging up on his wall that had a quote from Howard Cosell. It said, “What’s right isn’t always popular. What’s popular isn’t always right.” Before I didn’t completely understand what it meant, but now I do. This quote applies to this situation entirely.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t change your profile picture. It’s your own choice to change it. If you think it makes your profile “prettier” then do it. But think for a minute about whether you truly care and if you’re doing it because everyone else is. If you really do care and you want to bring about change, think about taking a different angle and actually going out and being an activist. But don't think for a second that a few clicks of a button will change the world because it won't. Only you can do that physically by making your voice heard and fighting for the truth. That will bring about change.