Thursday, May 4, 2017

R:8 Social Media Activist

Social Media Activism 


 In Gladwell’s essay, “Small Change” he argues that social media is inefficient in regards to society. He also believes that in order to direct the participants of big social movements it is essential that the organization has an obvious leader. All through the article, Gladwell constantly goes back to conversing the civil rights movement and what allowed for its success. He talks about the hierarchical power structure and how it was able to manage people in such a way that it brought about great movement.  I agree with Gladwell because I believe without a leader, it would be very difficult to create a strong platform for movements.

When it comes to talking about social media, I agree with Gladwells argument, social media doesn’t make a huge difference in society. With social media, you are sitting behind a screen. By having the luxury of sitting behind the screen, you are not really involved. At the end of the day, texts and images on a screen wont bring a huge change. In contrast, social media certainly helps with movements. Using social media definitely brings AWARENESS. Moreover, social media brings people together, and they feel a sense of comfort knowing they have similar people supporting the same cause. For example the shooting that took place in Orlando. Tons of Facebook users used their profile picture and incorporated a rainbow filter to bring awareness to the situation. When you think about it, at the end of the day their profile picture wont bring a change to what happened with the situation. However it will spread a message that people are supportive with the LBGT community.




I really appreciate how social media has helped our society. Thanks to social media we can give people a platform to bring awareness on important situations. Social media gives us a place where we can unite. However, I ultimately believe joining face to face, and taking physical action is more proactive and will make a better impact on society and help social movements.



Sources:

Gladwell, Malcolm. "Small Change." 
The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 12 May 2015. Web. 04 May 2017.

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