One of the major benefits of social media is to quickly and easily communicate regardless of geography. Through this people are able to easily create their own communities online and connect with others that have similar beliefs and interests. On Instagram, “#sustainability” there are currently 13.8 million posts using that hashtag. On TikTok videos using that same hashtag have 3.08 billion views. The videos and posts include tips on how to use up Thanksgiving leftovers to reduce waste, and even how to use leftover frozen citrus peels as a dish scrubber to clean greasy dishes. Spoiler alert: the frozen citrus peels really do work.
On Reddit there’s a wide variety of subreddits that highlight different environmental ideas. One example is r/environment with 1.1 million members with posts relating to current environment news. Additional subreddits include r/ZeroWasteLiving, r/LowImpactLifestyle, and r/composting. With the wide variety of subreddit topics it is easy for individuals to find a community that fits into their life and what they wish to learn more about through social media. This is one of the many benefits of social media, not only does it allow individuals to quickly and easily spread information but it allows communities to be fostered with like interests regardless of geographic boundaries.