In light of the rising political consciousness of millennials and other Facebook users between the ages of 18 and 45, Facebook is excited to reveal the new “Fill-in-the-Blank” Filter Generator App so that people can immediately engage in political activism on social media. This social media generator is intended to allow users to engage with causes they support for the low price of $0.99.
“We really saw a jump in activism after profile picture filters became available,” said Chad Conroy, Facebook analyst and creator of the application. “Data suggests that now more than ever, people are posting editorials about different topics to accompany their filter changes and sharing friends’ statuses to convey their thoughts on political, social, and economic issues. This is something our users care about, and we want to make sure we support their needs.”
These filters will include both a color and textual component and will allow for a striped background to be applied to a profile picture along with the text “I Stand With ______,” which with the purchase of the app for $0.99 can be filled in with a cause of the user’s choosing. A $3.99 upgrade will allow the user to apply a layer mask to their profile picture, as in the case of the classic “I’m With Her” campaign.
“I’m just really excited for users to be able to share their stance on critical political issues in a way that’s meaningful to them,” Conroy said. Conroy has personal experience with how Facebook filters can get users in touch with activism. Conroy changed his profile picture filter to “I Stand with Planned Parenthood” a few months ago to support his friends with uteruses, but changed it back to a regular photo in January because “more pressing social issues arose.”
Conroy now plans to use the app to generate a filter for a local philanthropy for a small percentage of the donations, but he says he is ready to support any other causes that feature that app’s generated filters. As of press time, sources report that Facebook’s net worth is predicted to increase by $360 million in the months following the release of the app.
