Why it's time to Care and Share: Social Media and more with Presenter Hope Ellen

I joined the photo and video-sharing platform Instagram around this time last year, in preparation for the incoming scenery of New Zealand and frankly with a need to justify my "grown-up gap year". Not only have I impressed myself in my own ability to consistently write pretty decent captions, I've also been taken aback by what people are sharing on the site. With the shift from the flashy, social life we so wish we all had to the more candid, real-life struggles that those at every level of following numbers are sharing. It never ceases to amaze me how on a platform consisting of reams of daily photos - every major humanitarian-crisis; political injustice; and all the faux-pas resulting from and connected to the pandemic, can actually generate a lot of conversation.

Not too long ago the phrase 'virtue-signalling' came up in one of the Facebook chats with some friends of mine. A quick search to educate myself further on this and I noticed that the Guardian had published an article titled "Virtue-signalling - the putdown that has passed its sell by date". Expecting this article to have been published in the Covid and relentless crisis riddled world of 2020, I was surprised to read it had actually been written on 20th January 2016. The Guardian is of course absolutely right. 

My good friend Hope Ellen, who (I don't think she will mind me saying) is prolific on Instagram. Which I genuinely do mean with sincerity because of her tireless work-ethic and ability to use the platform in fun, new and dynamic ways, as she builds her own profile as a Presenter. Yes people, plug for a mate! But I have been curious how for someone whose social media output is a two-way communication, is able to integrate sharing content, such as the events in Beirut, whilst maintaining her fun and laid-back image as a Presenter. 

I asked Hope what had instigated the evolution in the content she feels is important to share.

"I think the change has really come this year. 2020 has been challenging for everyone in many respects, I feel that coronavirus, the Black Lives Matter Movement  the devastation in Beirut  just to name a few have made us feel more connected as a world and the internet and social media has a huge influence when it comes to us feeling this way. My brand as time has gone on, has developed and evolved and I want to be a voice for all people to embrace their weird selves, to be honest and open. So the content I have started to create reflects this."  

Hope's sharing of the often disturbing events happening around the world has coincided with an explosion in content encouraging open conversations on previously taboo subjects such as mental health and body image. You can now show your most embarrassing and vulnerable self online without fearing it will harm your profile. But she is keen to stress how this should be managed with a degree of caution.

"I think a really important thing for everyone to note is that if you are going to talk about things that happened to you, that were quite extreme and negatively impacted you, you need to be sure that posting about it and talking about these things publicly will not negatively impact you. I always compare it to a scab on your arm, sometimes if you talk about things that you haven't fully recovered from you can pick the scab and the wound is open again, so it's always best that it's a healed scar that you have processed and overcome."

In many respects, the facade portrayed through social media has continued through and post-lockdown, with boujee 'staycation' shots and now the mass exodus to (and hurriedly back from) the European holiday resorts. However, you feel the community on platforms such as Instagram are equally making it difficult to ignore all of the unjust events happening around the world. As much as some people may not like to admit it, this filters down from celebrities with millions of social media followers. Hope told me about some of the people she sees doing this successfully and how this will shape the future of content we see on the Timeline. 

"I think there is a huge amount of people who are doing this well. Sofie Hagen is someone who pops to mind, but I believe most influencers are using their platforms for the greater good. Lily Allen and Professor Green are two examples of people who speak about politics openly. I think we're going to see a seed change in the next few years, as I believe people are becoming less self absorbed and the planets problems are feeling closer to home."

If you are a parent you will be all too aware that the future for your children and young adults, both through leisure-time and increasingly professional business use, lies within the sub-reality of the social media world. For that matter, the same could be said for those parents themselves, the ones who we all know spend far too much time on Facebook. With this being the case, isn't it time we encourage the education that comes from this so called virtue-signalling. Even if that just inspires a small minority of those followers to engage, but a much larger proportion to become educated on that cause or event, who otherwise may not have been. Now wouldn't that be worthwhile?