Check out some of these apps for your everyday activism.
Social justice and activism does not look the same for everyone. There are different platforms and strategies employed by thousands of different groups. However, whether your goals are to take a critical look at police brutality, sexual assault or even issues of environmental sustainability, there is probably an app for that. Yes, to take a quote from the popular old iPhone commercial, there's an app for just about anything. Young activists can utilize some of these apps in their everyday lives for their personal brand of justice.
Buycott
Buycott is one of the many apps currently available to consumers who want to make sure the brands they purchase from follow their moral code. The app lets you scan any item that you are considering purchasing and lets you read a bit about the brand or companies and how it makes the product. It also lets you join current boycotts pushing companies to be better advocates for different forms of justice, whether it be workers rights’ or environmental sustainability. Consciously choosing not to purchase something is a huge stance in itself. It is an easy way young people and people in general can make a personal commitment to buying smart.
Mobile Justice
The Mobile Justice app by the American Civil Liberties Union has been around for under 2 years now but it has spawned similar apps across the country because of its timeliness. The app allows users to film police interaction at any given time. The app also allows users to write about the interaction and cite themselves as a witness of the event. The app is one of the numerous attempts to call people to action against excessive police force and racial profiling which has been seen time and time again in the headlines and through movements like #BlackLivesMatter.
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Circle of 6
Circle of 6, along with several other apps, acts as a useful tool to help women feel safer. The app, aimed at college-aged students, allows users to pick six close friends or contacts they would feel comfortable with helping them if they felt endangered. Though the app obviously does not combat the fact that women are getting sexually assaulted, it does allow others to be better bystanders.
It may seem like the three apps listed only scratch the surface of justice, but there are countless mobile tools that could act as a young activist’s Swiss Army Knife. Advocacy should never have to stop because of a lack of resources. App developers understand that most people have their phones with them and on 99 percent of the day and self-branded “social justice” apps are a great first step in making our phones more of a tool than they already are.
Kenyetta Whitfield is a sophomore studying journalism. Would you use any of these apps for you personal social justice? Tweet Kenyetta @Ken_Whitty or email her at kw162913@ohio.edu.
