Social Justice Youth Development in Action
I see the theme and focus of Social Justice Youth Development in many youth spaces. I truly believe that our generation and the ones coming after us truly understand the importance of speaking up about social justice issues and taking direct action.
On a personal note, I follow many Instagram pages that have strong advocacy for topics such as LGBTQIA support, sex-positive/sexual health education, mental health awareness, and so on. Many of these pages are nonprofits that support programming for youth to have a voice and enact change in their lives and overall communities. Some of these accounts are, sexpositive_families, getrealmovement, and of course my past and current organizations that I work for pasa_afterzone, astrogram401, and nathan_bishop_cheer. I wanted to mention social media because the impact it has made on younger generations has helped promote there need to step up and create fair and just relations between themselves and the communities they are apart of.
What really resonates with me about this approach is that social justice can truly encompass many aspects of youth work. It can be implemented in every program for every student in one way or another. Growth is inevitable so having youth be apart of these conversations and giving them the space to create and advocate sets our society up to be successful.
Hi Dana,
ReplyDeleteNice blog, love it and your personality as well. Thanks for sharing your point of view I agree that our generation and the ones coming after should be more aware and understand more in depth the importance of social justice for youth development, it is very important to know about the issues and the action that should be taken. I think social justice should be implemented in schools curriculum to educate kids more regarding issues is society.
Thanks for your post Dana and for highlighting social media as a tool for raising awareness and building community around social justice issues. I would be curious to know more about how you engage with these accounts. What are some important learnings? How do they affect your thinking and your actions as a human and youth worker?
ReplyDeleteSome of the main teachings I try to follow are the philosophies of "you are where you need to be on your journey even if you're not perfect" and "boundary setting in person and online accounts is crucial for your well being".
DeleteAt times, most especially while scrolling social media we can have alot of pressure to look a certain way, act a certain way or follow a specific trend. If something may appear to be mainstream on one account or group and their are heightened emotions people can blindy follow unjust ideas and perspectives that further separate themselves from there own self worth and others.
People can fail to take the time to really educate themselves by seeing all angles and perspectives. The energy you surround yourself with is the energy you become thus I try to really focus my energy on accounts that emphasis various perspectives, positivity, and the importance of personal sense of self worth + growth.
Everyone makes mistakes everyone has said and done things they may not agree with but we should not cancel a person or idea because of their lack of understanding (cancel culture is huge on social media) rather we should try to find ways to elevate those around us. Focus on broadening others perspectives is so important and sadly social media can make people fall into a trap of, a lack of self/group awareness, and ultimately facilitate unsafe social environments that trickle into the real world.
To end of on a more uplifting note, there are accounts out there that are making huge steps in spreading true and just information. I do believe that when social media accounts or environments help you dig deeper and expand your mind then you are in the right place. Every day I try my best to not get stuck in cycles of thought that lead to envy or separation from others. Social media, yes can divide, but when used wisely and with healthy boundaries, can bring you closer to yourself and the world.