Erinne Paisley - Can Your Smartphone Change the World? (Popactivism)

Text copyright 2017 Erinne Paisley

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Cataloguing in Publication information available from Library and Archives Canada

Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-4598-1303-8 (softcover). ISBN 978-1-4598-1304-5 (pdf).
ISBN 978-1-4598-1305-2 (epub)

First published in the United States, 2017
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017932496

Summary: This work of nonfiction, in the PopActivism series for teens, looks at how you can use a smartphone as a tool for social justice.

Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

The authors and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at the time of publication. The authors and publisher do not assume any liability for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions in the above list and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book.

Edited by Sarah N. Harvey
Design by Jenn Playford
Front cover and flap images by Ute Muller
Back cover images by Getty Images, Heather Nichols, Erinne Paisley
Author photo by Jacklyn Atlas
Ebook by Bright Wing Books (brightwing.ca)

ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS
www.orcabook.com

To my parents

ACTIVISM

The creation of social and/or political change.

POP ACTIVISM

Activism fused with pop culture.

What is interesting is the power and the impact of social media...So we must try to use social media in a good way.

Malala Yousafzai

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

In May of 2015, my brother took a few pictures of me and my friends at our senior prom. There were the usual group pictures, the candid laughing shots and, of course, the artistic snaps of corsages. My graduation weekend was filled with hugs, tears, reflections on the last four years of high school, and daydreams of future plans. People always say high school goes by quickly, but you never quite realize how true that is until youre up on stage, reaching for your diploma and having a mini panic attack about whats coming next. Throw in a celebration involving as many friends and family members as possible, and you get one intense weekend. On Monday morning I was happy to wake up to memories of the weekendand a whole slew of photos posted for the world to see online.

Something extraordinary was happening: my story was going viral.

Ive always loved the thrill of the little notification that pops up on your screen when you get tagged or someone likes or comments on a photo. Maybe its the anticipation mixed with a bit of fear. You never know what could be waiting on the other sidean unflattering mid-speech photo, a cute group shot. Theres a leap of faith involved in allowing your life to be displayed online. The notifications came in a few at a time, but in the hours and days that followed, these notifications quickly ballooned from one or two, to one or two hundred, to one or two thousand. Something extraordinary was happening: my story was going viral.

Graduation day! My best friend had to keep tape in her purse just in case fixes were needed! STUART PAISLEY

With my friend Amadea Gareau on the steps of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings. STUART PAISLEY

PAPER, TAPE AND A RED PEN

So what happened on my graduation weekend that made me trend in style on mtv.com above Kim Kardashian, Willow Smith and Rihanna? I wasnt wearing the most cutting-edge, high-fashion Louis Vuitton dress. In fact, I was wearing a dress that cost me zero dollars and was made in my living room. I built my prom dress out of old math homework, Scotch tape and a bit of black satin. With a red felt-tip pen (the same kind teachers use to mark tests) I wrote Ive received my education. Not every woman has that right. Malala.org . Then I donated the money I would have spent on a prom dress to the Malala Fund.

In my hometown of Victoria, British Columbia, the story took off like wildfire. I was getting photo requests from local newspapers, and radio stations were calling to interview the girl in the paper dress. I was ready to talk about my creation, but thats not all I wanted to talk about. I knew people would be listening, and I wanted them to know that my reason for making the dress was not just because it looked cool.

More than 130 million girls in the world are out of school. Lets make it zero . This is the first sentence you see when clicking on malala.org. This is the fact that inspired me to make the dress. Malala Yousafzai was born in 1997, the same year as me, in the Swat Valley, Pakistan. She has an immense passion for learning, and she believed in everyones right to an education. In 2009 the Talibans military presence in the Swat Valley created fear about girls going to school, and Malala spoke out about it. In an anonymous blog she wrote for the bbc, Malala talked about her fears of a military attack on her school, the bans on music and television, the restrictions being placed on women, and many other realities she was facing. As her voice grew stronger and her story became more and more well known, the Taliban decided to silence her.

Malala Yousafzai is the same age as I am. If we had been born in the same place, we could have been in the same school classroom. JSTONE /SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

In 2011 they pledged to murder her. On October 9, 2012, Malala was shot on a school bus on her way to class. She survived and was flown to the United Kingdom for intensive care. In the weeks after the attack, over two million people signed a right-to-education petition, and the National Assembly of Pakistan swiftly ratified Pakistans first Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill. Malalas story was the top news worldwide, and since then her voice has only continued to grow stronger and stronger. She founded the Malala Fund, wrote the bestselling book