Reflection #8-Bobadilla, Steve : Social Media Activism

Steve Bobadilla

MCS 355

Reflection # 8

May 6, 2017

Socialism & Activism:

BlackLivesMatter

We all know social media connects people with celebrities, who kindly accept to meet with someone who has gone or is going through something traumatic. In my opinion, social media is a key factor in making a difference in someone’s life. Therefore, their intention is to brighten up someone’s day, we are seeing a spike in this act of generosity. These acts of kindness could be catalysts to a movement via social media. For example, the Ice bucket challenge became a popular thing because of previous hospital visits or encounters a celebrity might have had with someone. I completely agree on all aspects of Gladwell essay because he states, various points where are very true in modern-day society. First, he states, “Our acquaintances—not our friends—are our greatest source of new ideas and information.” (Small Change, Gladwell). Secondly, he states, “The Internet lets us exploit the power of these kinds of distant connections with marvellous efficiency.” (Small Change, Gladwell). “But weak ties seldom lead to high-risk activism.” (Small Change, Gladwell). “Social networks are particularly effective at increasing motivation,” (Small Change, Gladwell). Exposure is also a big part of activism on social media. This all means if we want to start a social media movement, we must weigh the benefits against the repercussions.

The BlackLivesMatter movement has extensively used social media because it helped raise awareness toward police brutality especially in Baltimore. This movement has motivated college students to march on their respective campuses all over the country. This movement has also motivated people to march on Capitol Hill as well. For example, the Trayvon Martin case was dominating social media platforms for an extended period because people wanted to openly express their point of views. According to Kwame Opam he has a clear vision of what direction he wants to go with this movement, that was essentially created what was seen and heard through social media. He is promoting unity, which is a great thing. In the short video embedded in the website, he states that Twitter became the primary source of information. However, information about police brutality began to emerge in various social media platforms.

I believe social media is a key part to any movement because they united people with the same intentions to voice their opinion collectively. It also helps spread the word, and helping to find a unified voice. In recent years, we have seen a significant spike of these movements and the turnout is sometimes very overwhelming. I personally think “word of mouth” is more powerful because people are giving specific details they probably would not give on social media. However, this is challenged by the technological driven society we live in today. Overall, I believe that more movements will influence the decisions made by our government.  

Work Cited:

Gladwell, Malcolm. "Small Change." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 12 May 2015. Web. 06 May 2017.

Opam, Kwame. "DeRay Mckesson on Black Lives Matter and Building Tools for Digital Activism | Verge 2021." TheVerge.com. N.p., 29 Nov. 2016. Web. 06 May 2017.