There is a virulent epidemic spreading in this country. It’s not Ebola, or the common cold or even the swine flu avenging the American pharmaceutical industry. This illness is unlike any seen before, one that has evolved from modernity and boasts extreme contagiousness. Be aware, because this disease doesn’t infect people: it infects their agency. Welcome to the era of keyboard activism.

As a result of recent events, such as a jury’s choice to not indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who fatally shot black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., social media has exploded. There are posts everywhere — from individuals to Facebook groups — condemning, publicizing and critiquing the American criminal justice system. Given the momentum of “#blacklivesmatter” and progressive sentiment, widespread change seemed imminent. Except very little — unless fading murmurs of legislation and a few police retraining programs are considered significant victories — occurred.

While information exists to be spread and discussed, the problem occurs when the discussion never ends. Social media is not a product — it is a process, a black hole of infinite messages that functions with no structure or intention. The result is that when injustice demands a tangible response, we do not provide one.

To recede into the realm of tweets and posts as a response to injustice is to embrace the dangerous notion of keyboard activism, a model of social protest that emphasizes what we say over what we do. This is the dangerous nature of social media; our keyboards make us think we are leaving a physical mark on the world, that different combinations of the alphabet will dismantle oppression. What seems confusing to many is that amassing “likes” does not equate to progress; it equates to inaction and a false sense of empowerment. Incessant social media commentary has never changed the world. It has only left problems superficially addressed and materially thriving.

This isn’t to deny the importance of awareness. Awareness is valuable, but only insofar as it remedies exposed wrongs. Posting about the pervasiveness of racism doesn’t actively fight racism: it simply insulates you, and the Facebook friends whom you provoke, in a digital utopia.

Let’s remain engaged citizens, eager to pounce on and discuss current events. But our response shouldn’t end at the post button. We need to actively organize so we can end the material, not digital, reality of inequality. Tactical preparation must be our strategy, one that acknowledges the awareness limit of social media, while making use of it too.