But before action, comes education, and that’s where Instagram infographics come into play. Now let me be clear: sharing a cute infographic to your Instagram story and calling it a day is not going to start a revolution. While performative activism is problematic, in this case, it can still have a positive impact. Regardless of why you’re sharing something to your Instagram, you’re still spreading the message to a wider audience. Even if someone shares an educational resource to their story for purely performative reasons, a follower of theirs might click on it and gain some genuinely valuable information. In fact, this Instagram trend has been criticized for being too trendy, resulting in people reposting infographics just to hop on the bandwagon, not because they’re truly devoted to the cause. In the past few days I’ve come across infographics titled “Explaining Why Black on Black Crime Doesn’t Exist.” “What is Toxic Positivity?,” and “Fast Fashion Is Killing Our Planet.” While infographics originally became popular to spread information relating to the Black Lives Matter movement and anti-racist material, they now cover just about anything pertaining to social and political issues. In fact, not a day goes by where I don’t see at least a handful of infographics that people I’m following have reposted to their stories. Several months later, they’re still going strong. Aside from education, these infographics provided concrete ways for people to advocate for justice and get involved with the BLM movement. While Instagram infographics are not new, they rose to popularity in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement as a way to quickly spread information to the general public about protests, racism in America and dismantling white supremacy. Instagram infographics have become a resource for many and are changing the way young people share information. Many people repost these infographics to their stories to share valuable information with their followers. If you’re not on Instagram, these aesthetically pleasing multi-slide Instagram posts act as mini PowerPoint presentations that serve as educational resources for a variety of topics. If you’ve been on Instagram in the last few months, then you’ve probably caught wind of the latest trend: infographics that discuss important social issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News. Sophie Corbett is a journalism sophomore and Mustang News opinion columnist.

News source infographic