For those who don’t know, performative activism is defined as “activism done to increase one’s social capital rather than because of one’s devotion to a cause,” according to Wikipedia. 

The modern world revolves around social media. Teens, adults, the elderly, and even little children use it in their everyday lives, which leads to posting about international events. This war, in correlation with social media, has shown that performative activism exists at a wide range. 

Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February of 2022 resulting in tens of thousands of civilians losing their lives. It started when Russia began their invasion of Ukraine because President Vladimir Putin wanted to expand the country’s territory westward. 

The people of Ukraine deserve the world’s support, yet instead people are showing their contributions to Ukraine only when it seems relevant. It feels as if it is old news and that people have forgotten that the war is still continuing. 

“It’s kind of superficial, the approach to the Russia-Ukraine war,” says Ariana Desouza, 9th grader at CGHS. “It’s important to understand what the Ukrainian flag really means, and really stand in solidarity when you hold it up.”  

When people hold up flags in support of a country, it is assumed they know what it means. The yellow on the Ukrainian flag symbolizes wheat fields, as it is the fifth largest export of wheat to the world, while the blue represents the wide and expanding sky. 

Many people support other countries’ conflicts only for the desire to be seen as caring or involved in the situation when they truly have no belief in the matter or just want to feel relevant. 

What needs to be asked is “What if it were your country?” Then, they will understand what it feels like when other countries find you relevant when they feel like it. All countries have innocent civilians and deserve to be recognized and supported on behalf of the people. 

“I noticed how prominent performative activism is on social media back in 2020 when the Black Lives Matter protests were happening and covid was really kicking off,” said Sophia Herrera, a senior. “I think it’s really messed up and just absurd that celebrities and ‘activists’ have the audacity to speak on such heavy issues with no prior knowledge or sympathy for the cause. It can lead to a lot of misinformation and disrespect about the community being spoken about.”