Sustainable Social Media supporting the Future
The Information Age, Digital Age, the Computer Age: we live in an era dominated by the internet and social media. In 2020, the world spent an average of nearly 2.5hrs on social media every day. That means that in an entire year, we may spend over 900hrs staring at our devices, mindlessly scrolling through posts. The sheer amount of time also increases our exposure to fake news, clickbait, and internet trolls feeding us distorted or inaccurate information. This is especially prevalent with environmental issues and topics.
Social media companies profit off of your information and bombard you with advertisement after advertisement for products you likely don’t need. Situations like this cement our consumerism culture and further drive us towards unsustainable habits (see Leverage Point 2: Consumption).
But social media doesn’t have to be all that bad. We can use social media to amplify our voices and leverage change for the greater good. There are also platforms out there that reject this approach and do not seek to profit off of your consumption habits. What if I told you there was a novel social media network created specifically for connecting, sharing, and engaging in meaningful conversations on environmental, climate, and social justice issues?
Well, there is! This platform is called EarthNet: a social action network for the planet!
EarthNet is a database and social media platform built around the need for a social network that actively promotes a better planet. Unlike other platforms, EarthNet provides a space for people to collaborate, organize, and empower the global climate movement. No pesky ads trying to get you to buy the latest product and the information is fact-checked, so no need to worry about the spreading of fake news! Best of all, for individuals and smaller organizations, it is free to join; however, there is a fee for larger organizations.
As an individual or organization, you can peruse through a wide variety of topics, organizations, and projects to connect with or even become involved in a movement yourself. EarthNet’s streamlined platform helps users hone in on what they find the most interesting. They have created what are called “hubs” that focus on a particular topic, project or organization. Each topic “hub” connects with other related topic hubs to form a web of interconnected ideas, reducing the likelihood of falling down rabbit holes.
Another noteworthy feature is their project function. Members can use EarthNet to help startup their own climate projects, including networking with potential funders, promoting their cause, and rallying support from other members.
EarthNet and CoSphere closely align in our efforts to create a community for collective action and have joined as founding partners. While the two platforms may appear similar at face-value, there are some key—but complementary—differences. CoSphere is centered around making the science accessible and integrating it into activism. Our forum is one piece of that, an intimate space for our community to connect, learn, and engage with others on topics guided by this science. EarthNet on the other hand, takes a more technological approach, with a focus on networking and collaborating with a broader community to coordinate actions and projects.
The conversations initiated on CoSphere can sprout on EarthNet, where members can coordinate, form, and take action on their (or other’s) projects. To facilitate an easy connection, CoSphere has a ‘hub’ on EarthNet acting as another space for our community to connect. It will include additional resources for learning about and engaging with transformative change topics.
To join the network, check out EarthNet at earthnet.world
To find CoSphere’s “hub” connect and engage with us at earthnet.world/cosphere
