#waterwednesday

#WaterWednesday

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

#WaterWednesday

Introduction

The official website of Aqua Optima states that: “#WaterWednesday is a national campaign launched on Wednesday 6 June 2018, which will aim to encourage UK families to ditch sugary drinks for water every Wednesday” (Quench your thirst with #WaterWednesday, N.P). The participants of this campaign pledge to reserve every Wednesday to use water instead of the other drinks and to consider their daily use of water. Intended audiences of this campaign were initially the UK citizens, but now it has become a worldwide campaign where people from different continents participate. On the other hand, scholars have mixed views about the integrity of this mode of communication.

Body

Had there no water, there would have no human civilization rather life on the face of earth. The critical study of history proves that all the ancient civilizations were born and flourished on the banks of rivers. The citizens of the UK have almost abandoned the use of water for drinking instead they drink artificial sugary drinks as juices and energy drinks etc. On the other side, pure water resources are getting scarce throughout the world that can be called a time-bomb for humanity. This is a threat to human civilization. Aqua Optima promotes the use of water with the help of bloggers and research analysts using all the social media platforms. There is a formal membership page on the website of Aqua Optima where people get registered to be a part of this campaign. People make video clips of their activities like replacing the sugar filled drinks with fresh water. Moreover, they tweet about the benefits of staying hydrated while working. An Instagram blogger @sarah_montelongo writes that she has become water-addict since the campaign has started. A British YouTuber Kris Carr makes emotive videos to help people understand what happens when they use water in excess instead of artificial sugary drinks. As mentioned above, the campaign has become universal and Africa has become its focal point. Africa is a water scarce continent. Water scarcity becomes the cause of food scarcity because of little irrigation. South African authorities have become the part of the campaign as they spread awareness about the water use using their media. There are YouTube channels that make the videos about the pathetic state of water-supply throughout the continent. #WaterWednesday campaign has fueled the other campaigns regarding environmental deterioration. People write about the significance of plants, vegetables, and fresh water for the survival of human race.

This campaign is important because it has spread awareness about the human-health and life. The post-modern world is too busy in exploring Mars to look at the harms we are doing to our home: Earth. Mars would have no importance if we lose our health or our home. This is very important because it has become the cause of many other campaigns like #SaveNature, #GlobalWarmingIsReal, and #SaveWaterSaveLife. I am not yet a formal part of this campaign, but I intend to become it because of its vibrant way of encouraging people to do good for them and for the world. It influences the thoughts of people when bloggers and literate people share their motivational experiences after being used to the habit of drinking water. It appeals a large number of people for it demands no money for being its part or doing the asked job. Additionally, this campaign enables people to have savings when they purchase cheap and cheerful pure fresh water instead of expansive drinks.

Hash-tag campaigns have got much fame on social-media platforms. It is very easy for social-media activists to campaign in favor of something or against it. Little controversial acts of public-figure personalities cause storm on social-media. Brands are exposed to the millions of people using hash-tags in little time. Every user takes part in the campaigns, and a particular issue or items becomes the hot-topic in a few minutes. Gongs of campaigns are beaten on social-media platforms every day. This is the cause that scholars have different views about the effectiveness of such campaigns. Some scholars consider them useless word battles without having executive power, but the others credit them differently. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. writes that : “Our society’s issues are deeper than social media posts, there’s a long list and if you think solely making them a trending topic is going to solve them, then you are a part of the problem” Anschuetz, N. (2009). Ahron Burstin on the other hand calls it “One of the most engaging and effective ways you can use social media to boost visibility and get people talk” about the topic we want to publicize (Digital Defense: Black Feminists Resist Violence With Hashtag Activism, 2019).

Conclusion

#WaterWednesday was intended to spread health awareness among the UK citizens, but it has contributed to spread awareness about many other global issues like global warming, water scarcity, and food scarcity in Africa. Hash-tag campaigns are both boon and bane as discussed by the scholars. Their productivity or counter-productivity is decided after they get viral. Such campaigns do not produce the absolute result. We start a hash-tag campaign and wait what comes-out.

References

Quench your thirst with #WaterWednesday | parkrun UK Blog. (2018). parkrun UK Blog. Retrieved 31 October 2019, from https://blog.parkrun.com/uk/2018/06/05/quench-your-thirst-with-waterwednesdays/

Anschuetz, N. (2009) Is hashtag-based activism all talk, no action?Retrieved 1 November 2019, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/college/2015/10/26/is-hashtag-based-activism-all-talk-no-action/37407851/

Digital Defense: Black Feminists Resist Violence With Hashtag Activism. (2019). Feminist Media Studies. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14680777.2015.1008744?journalCode=rfms20