Palestine and Israel have been embroiled in an endless conflict over shared territory bordering the Mediterranean Sea for decades, and both sides have developed a deep hatred for each other over the years.
October 7, 2023 The conflict reached its climax When the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls part of the disputed territory known as the Gaza Strip, launched surprise air and ground attacks on Israel from the area.
This attack left many Israelis dead and injured, and the Israeli government declared war on Palestine.
Since then, people around the world have flocked to social media to post about the ongoing conflict and share their support for Israel or Palestine.
across social media platforms such as tick tock On Instagram, hashtags such as #prayforisrael and #freepalestine were trending. Obsess over millions of posts and social media stories.
Senior Adiva Raisa is one of the many people who have been posting about the war since it began. Because she believes that sharing information through her social media is a great way for people, especially teenagers, to express their opinions on important topics.
“Our generation is very interested in social media and using it in different ways,” she said. “I feel that being active through social media and posting is a great way to get involved and spread awareness about these issues, because in our situation as minors, there are actually a lot of Because I can't.”
Raisa sees social media as a powerful tool that allows her to share her voice and disseminate information about ongoing conflicts to her colleagues.
“Our generation doesn't really realize how much we can do through social media,” she says. “You may not think that your posts will help people, but they do and they help educate a lot of people. If you can't do anything else, this is a great form of activism. think.”
However, not everything about the Israel-Hamas war is included. It was accurate. Many people were posting about conflicts blindly without fully learning about them first.
“A lot of people in these wars have pre-established prejudices and tend to get irritated by what's happening so quickly,” Raisa explained. “When you're frustrated, you breed hatred, and when you're angry, you don't see the truth. That's why some people post things online that aren't entirely true or hurtful to others.”
It is important for individuals to do their research before posting about controversial topics, such as the war in Gaza.
“I think people on both sides of the conflict should be well-educated on this issue and look at all sides of the war before posting about it,” Raisa said.
Raisa has noticed that many people don't heed this advice and just post because others are doing the same.
“I really think this situation is indicative of the 'trend' of war on social media, because when they see everyone suddenly posting about Gaza, people say, 'Okay, everyone's doing it, so can I.' Let me do it.’ But they weren’t buying it.’ It’s time to educate yourself more,” Raisa explained.
Since social media first flooded with posts about the Israel-Hamas war in October, Raisa noticed that only a select few influencers were still sharing information on the topic. The rest of the time there was radio silence.
“As someone who is very outspoken about social injustice, I feel like I'm the only one talking about it out loud,” she said. “I post a lot about Gaza. Initially, people were interested, so they clicked on my posts and took the time to read them, but now they don't know what's going on. I haven’t found it in myself to take the time to figure it out for myself.”
Raisa understands that there are other reasons why someone might not care about the war in Gaza, but she also knows that many people do so simply because it's not talked about.
“Sometimes people take a break and stop posting about it because they get emotionally drained from hearing about it or their mental health starts to be affected by what's going on,” Raisa explained. “Some people post for a week or so and then get tired of hearing about it.”
For this reason, the Israel-Hamas war is a temporary social media trend that people only talk about until a new “trend” emerges, even though it is a serious conflict that sacrifices many lives every day. Raisa feels that this is just one of the
“I feel like this is a ‘trend’ in the sense that at one point a lot of people were talking about it, but then it goes away and more ‘important’ things come up,” she said. “For example, Ukraine was seen as a very big problem until the Gaza conflict, but now the Gaza conflict is gradually being pushed into the background.”
Raisa is extremely disappointed in the way people on social media are treating various conflicts around the world, especially the conflict in Gaza.
“People don't need to post these things as if they are 'trending' because people losing their lives is not a trend,” she shared. “It is not fashionable to sit in the comfort of your home and post about a conflict that you are uneducated about while people are losing their lives on the other side of the world.”
