#ProudToBeIrish – How Social Media Fuelled the Irish Gay Marriage Referendum
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| theguardian.com |
Unless you’ve been living under a rock on the dark side of
Ganymede, you’re probably aware that the Republic of Ireland just passed a
legislation which has made gay marriage legal nationwide. It is the first
nation ever to pass such a law based on public vote and the 14th
European country to pass one. This is a massive achievement both for Ireland
and for LGBT activism and the role social media played in the initiative cannot
be played down.
Among the 65% of registered Irish voters who turned out to
cast their ballots, those who voted yes were heavily comprised of a younger
demographic, and it goes without saying that younger people interface with (and
understand) social media on a far grander scale than anyone else. Other recent
referendums (such as the Scottish independence vote) have been heavily promoted
on social media, but far more even-handedly. Any attempt to raise promotion against gay marriage would
have garnered an epic backlash (as the 'Mothers and Fathers Matter' flagship campaign did), meaning that the yes campaign was always going
to hit the ground running, regardless of scale.
During the final week of the campaign, 'Yes Equality' Facebook
posts cumulatively reached 1.6 million users. Meanwhile on Twitter, the
pertinent hashtag reached over 2 million. That was just the dedicated
campaigning though, spontaneous, grassroots initiatives sprouted up constantly
in the run up to the vote. The #hometovote push was particularly successful,
working to encourage native Irish living outside the country to get involved
with the referendum. This heightened engagement amongst the young also resulted
in a massive uptick in young voter registration in Ireland.
After the count started the context shifted, but the online momentum
remained in play. #ProudToBeIrish became one of the most heavily trending tags
on the entire of Twitter, with thousands of people coming out to celebrate the
result. Corporate Twitters like Paddy Power and Innocent also got in on the
act. In an amusing twist, a double rainbow appeared over Dublin shortly after
the announcement, which was hailed as divine proclamation on God’s (totally
legit) Twitter page.
Dublin, if this doesn't tell you My opinion nothing will. #MarRef pic.twitter.com/3PzKFiqF3N
— God (@TheTweetOfGod) May 23, 2015
Whether this massive social media impact on voter turnout
and the nature of votes cast will have any impetus on future referendums and
elections is difficult to determine, while social media’s increasing role in
such things is inevitable, any vote that related to equal rights was always
going to resonate online. In any case, it’s a massive achievement for LGBT
supporters around the world and hopefully a sign of things to come.
Callum Davies
Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @CallumAtSMF
#ProudToBeIrish – How Social Media Fuelled the Irish Gay Marriage Referendum
Reviewed by Unknown
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Tuesday, May 26, 2015
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Tuesday, May 26, 2015
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