My position: The use of social networking sites is what enabled the #MeToo movement to become as big and as powerful as it is.

Argument #1: Social networking was what allowed all of the people all over the world to connect with each other about their similar experiences.

"The hashtag #MeToo in mid-October 2017 took most people by surprise. Within the first twenty-four hours it had been retweeted half a million times. According to Facebook, nearly 50 percent of US users are friends with someone who posted a message about experiences of assault or harassment " (Tambe 197).

This movement wasn't just happening in the US, it was happening worldwide. Facebook and Twitter feeds in countries such as Sweden, Japan, and India were filled with posts involving the hashtag #MeToo for days when it fist initially went viral (Tambe 197).


Argument #2: Celebrities used social media to promote the movement and make it even bigger.

While the movement started over a decade ago, it wasn't until Alyssa Milano, a famous actress, and other celebrities started using the hashtag that it gained a large amount of attention. The main way these celebrities are using their voices and their power as public figures is through their social media accounts (Bleznak).

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Sources:

Bleznak, Becca. “Lady Gaga and Other Celebrities Who Are Saying 'Me Too'.” The Cheat Sheet, 18 Mar. 2018, www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/lady-gaga-and-other-celebrities-who-are-saying-me-too.html/.

Tambe, Ashwini. “Reckoning with the Silences of #MeToo.” Feminist Studies, vol. 44, no. 1, 2018, pp. 197–203. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.15767/feministstudies.44.1.0197.