R8: Social Activism through Social Media
In his essay Small Change, Malcolm Gladwell argues that social media is not the right way to facilitate or organize activists movements. Gladwell analyzes many civil rights movements in the 1960s that were highly successful because they encouraged strong ties and high-risk activism. He also highlights a couple events deemed “Twitter revolutions,” such as the protests against their communist government in Moldova, or the Green movement which occurred in Tehran. Although both of these movements were deemed “Twitter revolutions,” after examination, it became obvious that these events were not brought on by or even driven by Twitter. In Moldova, most citizens did not even have Twitter accounts. In Tehran, most of the Tweets that were about the protests actually came from Twitter accounts from the West.
Gladwell states that “Where activists were once defined by their causes, they are now defined by their tools” (Gladwell). By this statement, he seeks to further support his claim that social media activism is not nearly the same as activism was before the advent of social media. He proposes that within activism, there are both strong and weak ties. Strong ties occur in high-risk activism. This means you have a personal, direct connection to the people who are directly involved in the movement. He believes high-risk activism is more successful because there is more at stake for the people who are involved. On the other hand, weak ties can also be a source of activism, but not necessarily as successful as strong ties. Weak ties are those developed with strangers and are mainly facilitated online. Twitter is practically built on weak ties because there are millions of users mostly all whom are strangers to each other. All Twitter users can view each others’ ideas and converse with anyone, even complete strangers or celebrities. Gladwell states “The Internet lets us exploit the power of these kinds of distant connections with marvelous efficiency...But weak ties seldom lead to high-risk activism” (Gladwell). He believes that because the Internet promotes weak ties, it therefore facilitates unsuccessful activism in the process.
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| Malcom Gladwell Source: https://pi.tedcdn.com/r/pe.tedcdn.com/images/ted/46f08b057c280fb6e471b1003bb9a78078c394ed_2880x1620.jpg? |
Gladwell proclaims “Because networks don’t have a centralized leadership structure and clear lines of authority, they have real difficulty reaching consensus and setting goals” (Gladwell). Gladwell argues that one of the main reasons that social media is not an effect tool for activism is because social media does not contain a hierarchy. The protests that occurred in the civil rights movements were successful because there was a leader who was the overall organizer of all the protests. There were people in charge who told others what to do, and everybody knew their place in the movement. However, with social media, Gladwell argues that we all have an equal voice and therefore it is difficult to agree on how to proceed or organize the movement.
I disagree with Gladwell’s argument that social media is not a valuable tool for activism. I believe that social media has the ability to give a voice to those who are suppressed. Social media can be used to create events, spread the word, and bring awareness to an issue. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter can be used to unify a group of people who have the same beliefs and concerns. One can make their thoughts and opinions known to the entire Internet if they are public on Twitter or through their Facebook account. Another way social media can help with activism is through celebrities. Verified celebrities on Twitter have millions of followers watching what they tweet everyday. A celebrity can Tweet about an issue or concern to bring awareness to an issue that is receiving little attention. This may cause someone to think about an issue in a different way, and may spark a protest, petition, etc. Social media can also be used to plan events. For instance, on Facebook one can create a specific event, with a description, its starting time and location, and make that event public for all to see. This can help organize large protests in specific places.
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| Source: http://media.salon.com/2010/10/how_facebook_made_an_activist_out_of_me.jpg
One such movement that has effectively utilized social media is the Women’s March. The Women’s March occurred on Washington on January 21st, 2017, and included protests throughout the globe. These protests initially began to protect women’s rights in the wake of Trump’s inauguration. However, the Women’s March was different from other protests in that it encompassed multiple problems in one protest. Issues at the protest included “immigration reform, healthcare reform, the natural environment, LGBQT rights, racial equality, freedom of religion and workers’ rights” (Drach). Essentially, the March became a huge demonstration against Trump and what he stands for. In her article “The Women’s March Defines Protest in the Facebook Age”, Issie Lapowsky stated “But the Women’s March on Washington and cities across the nation and around the world was, in Internet parlance, about all of the things” (Lapowsky).
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| Source: http://darkroom-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/2017/01/dk-womens-march-p1-davis.jpg |
What is unique about the Women’s March is that it began through Facebook. Contrary to Gladwell’s argument, Facebook was able to organize one of the largest marches ever recorded. The crowd on Washington comprised 500,000 people, which was three times the size of the crowd for Trump’s inauguration (Drach). It all began on election night by a woman in Hawaii named Teresa Shook. She created a page on Facebook for a “hypothetical march” and received 10,000 responses the next morning. After this, “experienced activists joined the cause, and within two days the women who would later form the co-chair committee met at a rooftop bar in Manhattan to begin planning” (Lapowsky). It was because of Facebook that this event even became a reality. In addition to the main protest group created on Facebook, other groups were created around the world to “advertise sister marches” (Lapowsky). Another reason the march may have been so successful was because of its inclusiveness. The March encompassed much more than one issue. It became a protest against the most powerful man in the nation and allowed for people of all races, nationalities, and genders to come together and unify.
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| Source: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/01/22/us/22march9/22march9-superJumbo.jpg |
I believe social media is a valuable tool in helping activists movements reach their ultimate goals. Sites such as Facebook allow for people around the world, no matter what race, gender religion, to come together for a common cause. Facebook specifically helped to spur the Women’s March and make it a huge success. DeRay Mckesson, a popular social activist from Baltimore, agrees that social media can be a very valuable and successful tool for activists. He believes social media and technology have the potential to redefine “what community looks like and how people come together and what authentic relationships look like” (Opam). He states that “I’m mindful that we aren’t born woke, something wakes us up, and for so many people, what woke them up was a Tweet or a Facebook post, an Instagram post, a picture” (Opam). Because there are billions of people on social media, they have access to learn about certain issues and movements and further organize protests or petitions online. One may not be aware of an issue until they see a Tweet or Facebook post about it. Social media not only brings awareness to an issue, it also propels it to a larger scale than would be possible without the use of social media.
Sources:
Drach, Abby. “Social Change through Social Media - Women’s March on Washington.”
HASHTAC. N.p., 2 Feb. 2017. Web. 03 May 2017.
<https://www.hastac.org/blogs/abby-drach/2017/02/02/social-change-through-social-media-womens-march-washington>
<https://www.hastac.org/blogs/abby-drach/2017/02/02/social-change-through-social-media-womens-march-washington>
Gladwell, Malcolm. “Small Change.” The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 12 May 2015. Web.
Lapowsky, Issie. “The Women’s March Defines Protest in the Facebook Age.” Wired. Conde
Nast, 21 Jan. 2017. Web. 03 May 2017.
<https://www.wired.com/2017/01/womens-march-defines-protest-facebook-age/>
<https://www.wired.com/2017/01/womens-march-defines-protest-facebook-age/>
Opam, Kwame. “Building Tools for Digital Activism.” TheVerge.com. N.p., 29 Nov. 2016. Web.
03 May 2017.
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