Social media has  become a tool for individuals and organizations alike to spread their message with the aid of one particular symbol —the hashtag.

The term “hashtag activism” refers to the use of Twitter hashtags for Internet activism. Notable examples in recent news include #BringbackourGirls, #WhyIstayed, #YesAllWomen and #ALSIceBucketChallenge.

Andrew Nelson, visiting professor in the school of mass communication, said the use of social media brings a sense of solidarity to a cause.

“People use the power of social media to conglomerate their causes. The benefits of it are that it shows a lot of solidarity with a lot of people, and by using a hashtag, you can search and see how other people have defined their giving or helping,” Nelson said.

Terri Zehyoue, criminal justice and sociology senior, often posts on social media about social problems. Zehyoue said she believes the importance of social media in activism is that it creates the ability to give voices to individuals who typically go unheard.

“What I found to be most powerful about social media is that it gives a voice to people who might not be heard otherwise,” Zehyoue said. “When you post in a trend, it gives you power to express themselves.”

As a result of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson, #iftheygunnedmedown was created to lead the social media outcry over images of Michael Brown chosen by news outlets.

Nelson said that social media activism stemming from Ferguson, Missouri was fascinating because it was reactionary commentary to societal injustice and prompted individuals to contribute to the conversation.

“Hashtag activism starts to get interesting when it addresses social problems with spontaneous messages and unsolicited comments from people who feel very strongly about those issues,” Nelson said.

While the death of Michael Brown ignited outrage via social media, the ice bucket challenge sparked interest in altruism. Celebrities, world leaders and many others flooded news feeds with videos dousing themselves with buckers of ice water in an effort to raise money and awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

ALS Association Spokesperson James Craig said the #ALSIceBucketChallenge campaign differs from other campaigns because of its origin.

“What sets this campaign apart is that it was not a campaign that was conceived by an organization to raise funds,” Craig said. “It was a grassroots effort from people living with ALS to raise awareness.”

The #ALSIceBucketChallenge campaign has raised $115 million in donations for the ALS association for research since its launch. Craig said that the challenge gave the disease unprecedented attention.

“ALS has never experienced this level of visibility. Before the ice bucket challenge, maybe half of the general public even knew what ALS is. The awareness has been so valuable to our fight. And, of course, the money that has been raised is unprecedented,” Craig said.

Nelson said that social media is a beneficial tool for activism because it presents a cause to a wide audience, but it can also detract from an issue when interest is lost in favor of the next trending cause.

“We have an awareness of it. It jogs our memory or tugs our conscience, and then we forget about it because the next new thing starts to trend,” Nelson said.

Although hashtag activism can result in individuals taking action in the real world, Nelson said some might only be participating in “slacktivism.” The term “slacktivism” refers to individuals who only portray concern for a trending cause through posting to social media.

“It is very easy to like some sort of activist’s statement on Facebook, or retweet and use a hashtag, but it’s another thing all together to either contribute money or your time to the very same cause,” Nelson said.

Zehyoue said some activists think that a presence on social media makes no real world impact.

“I know a lot of activists in general who feel like social presence is not important because they think that people just post a status they have changed the world,” Zehyoue said.

Despite the pattern of causes losing popular interest when something else trends, Zehyoue said she doesn’t see social media activism losing popularity.

“I don’t see social media activism going away because the Internet is one of the most powerful things we have to connect to people all over the world especially when people start to care about the same issues,” Zehyoue said.