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Social Activism vs. Social Media Activism

In the terms of social media strong ties can be defined as connections that promote involvement and strategy towards a mutual cause. While weak ties are connections that serve mainly to provide information and a platform to express ideas and values. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are the perfect networks for people to share information on what they believe is an important cause. And through these platforms users can form weak ties with hundreds of other people who share the same beliefs and values.

Gladwell's main argument is that while social media is an excellent tool for spreading information and motivating people, it lacks the leadership and structure needed to organize a successful movement. The sit-ins and boycotts of the 1960s were so successful because they were painstakingly organized and there was a clearly defined hierarchy. Gladwell states, "Because networks don’t have a centralized leadership structure and clear lines of authority, they have real difficulty reaching consensus and setting goals. They can’t think strategically; they are chronically prone to conflict and error"(Gladwell). Social media makes maintaining communication with participants much easier but due to the lack of authority it becomes difficult to determine who beliefs are the ones that should be followed.

I believe that social media can be used as tool to facilitate activism but the outcome of a movement or protest can not be swayed by Twitter alone. For example, the Arab Spring movement of 2011 was greatly empowered by social media. Activist were able to used app like Twitter and Facebook to communicate with other activists and mobilize the movement so quickly due in part to the fact that the government did not fully understand the power of the Internet. Now the Egyptian government is more knowledgeable about this power and they are taking action to restrict access to those networks. In her article, Hempel writes "Social media, it turns out, was not a new path to democracy, but merely a tool." Arab Spring activists were successful in getting their audience motivated but there was still a struggle in organizing protests. Social media is an invaluable tool in spreading information to thousands of people in seconds. But due to the lack of authority both sides of a movement can have equal impact on the audience.




 Gladwell, Malcolm. "Small Change." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 12 May 2015. Web. 03 May 2017.
Hempel, Jessi. "Social Media Made the Arab Spring, But Couldn’t Save It." Wired. Conde Nast, 26 Jan. 2016. Web. 03 May 2017.