History was always one of those school subjects that most people grew up hating. Why do you have to spend hours of your childhood learning about things that already happened, especially when history teachers make them seem so boring? Obviously, there’s a massive amount of importance regarding history and learning from the sins of the past, but that doesn’t make it any less boring for students in school.
Which is why it’s extra intriguing to see how social media sparks a bigger interest in history for people all over the world. It seems that people are way more interested in learning about historical regimes and events because of social media, but how has this happened? Let’s explore some of the biggest reasons behind this, and take a look at the various ways in which social media contributes to bringing the past into the limelight.
Quick & Easy History Facts
Social media gives creators a way to deliver information in bite-sized chunks. Instead of sitting in class for an hour, listening to a teacher drone on about things, anyone can visit a history-leaning social media page and get the facts like that.
Whether you’re reading about the deep-rooted meanings behind a certain historical flag or getting a step-by-step breakdown of what happened during an old war, social media makes history more digestible – and, therefore, more enjoyable for people to learn about. You see this in a few common formats:
- Video Shorts: It’s so easy for a history creator to put together a quick, 30-second video that explains something from the past. They pick an event or a person and deliver quick facts that are easy for anyone to take in. The speedy nature of the content means you can swipe through so many shorts and learn so much in just five minutes or so.
- Twitter Threads: On Twitter (or X), content creators can post images of certain historical events and create quick threads that break down what happens. Because each post in the thread only has a certain number of characters, they’re easy for anyone to read. People are way more engaged in reading like this than they would be in reading the same information from a history textbook.
- Instagram Slides: Many history content creators take to Instagram to create slides – which are, effectively, posts that include various images for readers to swipe through. There’s a caption below the post that can break things down, but each slide may include basic information and visuals. Again, it’s a way more engaging form of content compared with the traditional means of teaching history.
The simplicity and speed with which social media delivers these snippets of historical information make different things trend. Suddenly, everyone’s talking about WW2 again – or people are just learning about key areas of the Civil Rights movement. Which, funnily enough, brings us to the next talking point.
Uncovering “Lost” or “Forgotten” History
One of the other key reasons behind social media’s power to ignite interest in the past is the willingness for creators – or just random people – to talk about aspects of history that most individuals never learn about. It’s crazy when you leave school or do your own research and realize just how much is left out of the curriculum. It makes sense – schools can only teach so much – but why are we only learning about specific things, and why has this been the same for generations?
The fact is that most people grow up with a basic knowledge of US history, though there are so many areas that get lost or forgotten about. Social media paves the way to uncover these things and teach people new information. It can feel like a real “pulling back the curtain” moment when you find different threads, posts, or videos on social media platforms that go into aspects of history that you had no clue about.
The Power of Gaming
As you should be well aware, the gaming community has a massive voice on social media. When things trend within this space, well, they tend to reach mainstream audiences in moments. Amazingly, gaming is often at the heart of historical trends on social media platforms. People will play certain games based on the past – or set in certain time periods – and it encourages them to talk about the real history these games were inspired by.
The Assassin’s Creed series is one of the most obvious examples of this. People play the games and post screenshots or videos displaying the historical accuracy, and this sparks conversations about topics from the past – or encourages people to learn more. You also have popular games like The Ghost of Tsushima or The Ghost of Yotei that unlock interests in parts of history most of the Western world has never heard of, like feudal Japan.
Gaming sparks an interest in different areas of history, and then the gaming community spreads this through social media to bring history into the limelight.
Videos Are Far More Interesting
We spoke about the different forms of social media content and how they encourage bite-sized information, but videos (in general) are the key to promoting an interest in history. It’s more comfortable for someone to watch a 20 or 30-minute video on something than it is to sit in a history lesson for an hour. Why? Because videos are easier to pay attention to, and they’re also far more interesting.
As a result, social media is full of deep dives into different elements of history, featuring great videos that sometimes re-enact events or provide cool graphics so you can visualize parts of history for the first time. It’s a lot easier to be interested in the past when people make the past interesting.
On the whole, it’s not difficult to see how social media revives interest in the past by bringing history into focus. It’s fair to say that most people learn more about history through social media than they do in school these days. You can find information more easily, get it in digestible chunks, and learn about new things that actually interest you. That’s how history is kept alive – and it’s one of the rare benefits of social media.
