Content Creator Anam Lone On The Role of Social Media During Times Of Crisis

Anam Lone lives in Mississauga with her husband and three children. A chartered accountant by day and an Instagram content creator by night, we asked her to weigh in on the current situation in the Middle East, as part of our ongoing effort to facilitate kind and compassionate conversation around this crisis. —Vita Daily

Please tell us a bit about yourself to start.

I document parts of my life as a working-mom and share tips and tricks that help me manage my personal and professional life. My content mostly focuses on home decor tips, home organization and preparing easy meals for families with young children like mine. I also own an online business of cultural gifts and art.

How do you use your platform to impact those who follow you?

A substantial portion of my followers consists of professional mothers who are navigating a stage of life much like mine. The goal of my “regular” content is always to provide my audience with as much value as possible and create a sense of community. I do this by sharing my personal tips and tricks to manage a busy household and encourage others to chime in with their suggestions. I like to remind myself (and my audience) that it’s also important to have fun in this busy phase of life. At the same time, I don’t shy away from sharing my struggles, negative experiences and dilemmas. My hope is that my content helps others feel less alone and inspires them to live life fully through its ups and downs.

As a designer/creative/public figure, is it difficult to go about “business as usual” at the moment? Any thoughts around managing that?

Personally, I can barely function in my everyday life right now. The heartbreaking images and videos coming out of Gaza are replaying in the mind and the feelings of extreme helplessness are paralyzing. The scale and magnitude of the attacks is so large that it is becoming difficult to go about our days in what feels like a parallel world.

For influencers and public figures, social media proves to be a very challenging workplace in these times. You probably cannot think of anyone who stopped showing up to their day job as a result of world events. No one quits opening up their retail store for business. No one stops doing what they do for a livelihood. Those who work in factories, offices or clinics are not expected to share their opinions or advocate at work. That is a privilege. However, it seems to absolutely be an expectation of influencers to pause “work” and direct all energy toward using their platform for a social cause. It is considered a responsibility.

Personally, I think it makes a lot of sense to pause and postpone work- and business-related commitments, especially when the entire globe is engrossed by an event. In times like this, “business as usual” content loses its meaning and effectiveness, and posting it can seem insensitive and tone-deaf.

In light of the current situation in the Middle East, I can tell you that never before have I felt so much gratitude for having an audience. Never before have I realized what a blessing it is to be able to reach thousands of people with one tap on my phone! So yes, I am taking up space. I have paused my “business as usual” content and I am using my platform to speak up. I am amplifying the voices of those being silenced, educating however I can and inspiring action in my followers. It all comes down to this famous but meaningful quote: “With great power (and reach) comes great responsibility.”

I have to say though, social media has come a long way since its early days. Influencers and brands are not only aware of these audience expectations, they truly understand their importance. For example, I was due to post some content at the time of the unfortunate Texas School shooting in 2022. Before I could say anything, the brand reached out and told me to hold on sharing the content, which I greatly appreciated. Similarly, I recently asked a brand to allow flexibility in posting some planned content for the upcoming month. They agreed without any hesitation. I have even seen email templates being shared among influencer circles to help each other have these conversations with brands.

However, there are some (not all) important nuances I would like to point out when it comes to Influencers posting about world events:

• Some events have limited significance for the influencer and/or their audience. For example, during the U.S. Capitol attack in 2021, there was a lot of pressure on U.S. influencers to talk about it and express their opinions. Influencers from other parts of the world could go about business as usual since neither they nor their audience were directly impacted.
• For people whose only source of bread and butter is their online platform, any long-term content pauses could have financial consequences. There are many women who “work from home” by creating content. And even if it’s not someone’s only source of income, we never know what financial needs or pressures someone has for them to continue to work. Therefore, we have to give people some grace and not jump to attack them for their choices.
• Sometimes, people have personal life situations that keep them from sharing their views online. It doesn’t mean that they don’t care. For example, someone out there has a racist landlord like the 71-year-old Chicago man who was full of hate to the point that he stabbed an innocent Palestine child to death. Similarly, a follower messaged me saying that she is a visible minority in her neighbourhood and is therefore afraid to share her views online. Another person may have a situation where they could hold opinions that are different from their entire family, but not be in a position to exposing their views online. Yet another person could be going through a court case which is consuming all their energy.

I feel no one should be called out for not posting. There should be no policing of who is posting what. No one should be made to feel bad for protecting their own or their family’s safety. We never know anyone’s situation and not posting doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t care. The focus should remain on the cause, and everyone should be kindly encouraged to join to the best of their ability. 

It’s never black and white.

Have you made any observations around social media in the past few days? Has the response been appropriate? And, in your opinion, does it really matter what happens on social?

I think we can all agree that we have never seen the whole of social media consumed by an event in this way. Seeing the news and images coming out from the ground in Gaza, it is no surprise. We have only ever heard about such grave humanitarian crises after-the-fact. Seeing it “live” and not being able to stop it is genuinely taking a toll on people. So they are on social media, creating awareness in hopes that those who are in charge can notice and take some much-needed action. I say the response has been appropriate.

I have come to the conclusion that it does matter what happens on social media. Over the past one week, traditional media has proven to be extremely unreliable. We have seen media giants use hateful rhetoric, present information without proof or facts, casually retract their own statements and then move on to do more of the same. All of this has been shocking and laughable, especially because everything ever posted online leaves a digital trail and allows people to easily corroborate evidence and point out lies.

Perhaps there are folks of older generations still glued to news channels on TV, but younger generations are all getting a lot of their information in the palm of their hands via social media. This has its drawbacks too, because social media can very well be unreliable. Anyone can make up stories, create a professional-looking info-graphic, match a two-year-old picture with a new headline, and claim to spread the truth. Beyond that, we now have AI generated images that are as close to real-life as fake images can get. They easily fool people.

What social media does well is allow people to see both sides from personal accounts. Many people, for example, have started to follow and closely watch video updates coming from content creators from the ground in Gaza. The ability of online content creators to depict raw, unedited footage in real time is priceless. At the same time, the viewpoint of the “other side” is just one search away, and anyone genuinely looking to form an independent opinion can be guided to the right path. 

People are having conversations in stories, direct messages and post comments as well. Yes, there are those who have their minds made up, but many people, myself included, have learned a lot from simply reading perspectives. I have come to understand just how much historical context I did not know. And while I now plan to read books on the subject, I have gained some decent understanding in the meantime of the general public’s viewpoints.

If social media did not matter, journalists and content creators from the ground would not ask us to help amplify their voices and share their stories. If social media did not matter, big platforms would not care to shadowban content, block the use of certain hashtags, or take entire accounts down altogether.

Traditional media is having a hard time holding on to propaganda and this is a step in the right direction.

Have you heard of any good/effective ways to help at the moment?

We have to really focus on what we as individuals can do. I personally made a phone call to my local Member of Parliament to ask what steps are being taken toward a ceasefire. I plan to call everyday because it is important to hold political leaders accountable and ensure they are making progress. I have also sent emails to elected officials asking them to do everything in their power to ensure that aid gets inside Gaza. With three kids, it has been difficult for me to join protests, but I plan to join one whenever I can. I have of course been sharing information on social media with my audience. Lastly, I have donated funds to trusted charities for relief efforts in Gaza.

Any advice/words/insight for those reading who feel removed, personally, from the situation, but wish to gain more knowledge/understanding?

Know that you will encounter certain information for the first time ever. It will shock you, make you question what you know, and leave you wondering how these issues will ever be solved. Today there are so many ways to gain knowledge and understanding. You can read books, even listen to books, tune into a podcast, watch documentaries or YouTube videos. Learn through the medium that works best for you and keep an open mind. Recognize that every community has their biases and remain flexible to changing your stance on issues. To the best of your ability, raise your voice for those who are oppressed.

There have already been too many precious lives lost. We have failed them. There is no way that this conflict cannot be resolved without shedding the blood of innocent civilians.