Argumentative Essay On Social Media

Ryan Sorge Rachel Thomas Composition 1 4 September 2015 Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted Summary In the essay Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted, The author Malcolm Gladwell, explains the pros and cons of how activism has transformed into social media, instead of social activism. Without social media, he explained that protests and large group gatherings can be arranged, without social media, successfully. High-risk activism has "strong-ties", while social media has "weak ties". Using the web has turned into a critical component in which the way people live today.

The internet is a powerful tool for activists, but can also be utilized by the other side by promoting propaganda and mobilizing their own supporters. Networking sites have revolutionized the way people activists approach revolutions. Moreover, the internet has connected people from across the world and has caused people in the states (like myself) to become invested in a civil war occurring in a part of the world I never knew existed. The internet has empowered and enabled people by connecting like-minded people, providing access to information, broadcasting events, and creating real connections between people. Alone, the internet is not enough to bring down an oppressive, authoritarian state; but when coupled with the power and will of the people, it can create real

Gladwell sends a very strong message about how social media cannot cause a major revolution in society; likewise, Baron is sending across the same message. Revolutions continue even after the internet is shut down. As crowds gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Baron describes how they “continued to grow during the five days that the Mubarak government shut down the internet” (330). The crowds increased in size without the help of social media. Somehow, word got out and people came to support the cause. Also, Baron brings into realization that Americans are too involved in the world of social media. Americans fail to realize all of the news that they are missing because they “can’t seem to survive without the constant stimulus of digital multitasking” (Baron 330). American citizens are too busy tweeting about what they ate for breakfast to worry about the hungry that is going on overseas. They depend on social networking to tell them the news rather that picking up a newspaper and reading about what is going on in their country or maybe even overseas in a different country.

The term “social media” refers to the wide range of Internet-based and mobile services that allow users to participate in online exchanges, contribute user-created content, or join online communities (Dewing). It has become common today to use applications such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to express and share your thoughts, opinions, and common interest. In Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted, writer Malcolm Gladwell touches upon the issues of social media’s role in activism vs. the traditional way of becoming a true activist Many of us today use these social networks for its beneficial approach to attract users and acquaintances to support their cause or

With instantaneous, ease of access to large online communities, members of society have the opportunity to communicate with, and assemble large groups. The creation of these groups would, in most cases, be impossible to congregate without social media. Additionally, online communities have proven advantageous in motivating bystanders. All popular social media hubs, such as Facebook and Twitter, have made it as simply as the click of a button to spread information. As far as political and social impact goes - the larger the group, the more efficient and likely the goal will be achieved, shown with the Ferguson protest. The extensive use, and ease of use of social media has significantly increased political participation in society.

The article argues that "Evaluating the relation between transforming communication technologies and collective action demands recognizing how such technologies infuse specific protest ecologies (Segerberg &Bennett, 2011)." The authors suggest that technologies, such as Twitter is deeply embedded in protest ecologies and constitute a flexible means for individuals and organizations with diverse ideologies to access the space. They also pointed out that we should look beyond technologies, actors and uses. Instead, we should look into at least two aspects when analyzing Twitter's role in the protest ecology: its role as network agent and window on the protest space. The former one indicates that social media protest usually involves numerous online technologies that offer two different types of actors to utilize, so Twitter acts as a crucial role of co configuring the protest space. The latter one indicates that "something of the larger network of relations involved in a particular event, even if it does not tell the whole story about them (cf. Huberman, Romero, & Wu, 2009)." The article also talks about three dimensions of analysis the role of Twitter in media ecology: 1) Twitter streams can be crosscutting networking mechanisms 2) How Twitter embed and are embedded in gate keeping processes. 3) How they reflect changing dynamics in the ecology

Different perspectives are represented from varieties of sources all over the world, people can access information in the form of text, pictures, and video stream (Lazar 2015). Additionally, Friedman (2006) investigated that the dominance of political video is an illustration of how the social network can influence democracy. As the political video emerged, the information, images and videos was widespread transmitted. Both information and issue framing can be actively disseminated by the network users through blogger, comment and discussion, virtually any person or organization who accessed the internet can freely discuss the political issues, publicize their views, and advocate their ideas (Fotopoulos 2008). The dissident and the general network users have gained places to voice their thoughts on news events or issues through online comments, blogger, forum discussions and other internet’s interactive features (Thompson 1993). According to Levine (2002), the article showed that the internet is a complicated system of more than 47000 interconnected networks crossing the world, it means that any information can rapidly spread through the internet, including the political

This article written by Lance Barnette explores the distinctions involved in the internet and mass media to provide an structural output of socially global activism. Barnette states that “as various media become interactively connected, information flows easier across boundaries” (Barnette, 2003). To this distinction, I agree that interactivity of social media allows for consumers/readers of activism propaganda to truly participate in the movement. Whether it is in the form of a video, poll or meme, some participants may unknowingly partake in the activity and share that form of propaganda. Overcome boundaries were “technological, social and geographical” (Barnette, 2003). As long an any device is capable to connect to the internet, it becomes an agent for delivery of information.

These platforms can catalyze discourses on a variety of issues on the political and social spectrum. Whether it is environmental issues, immigrant rights, antiwar protests, criticism against state policies, or support for activists around the world, social media has shown us the diversity, and sometimes maddening complexity, of political voices (ibid). Nonetheless, what makes social media so easy and effective is its decentralized nature; it is inexpensive, driven by networks, and entails few boundaries, if any (ibid). It is the democratic nature of social media that makes it accessible to users who wish to be heard (ibid). A limitation of social media activism is that some movements begin with good intentions, but soon after, people with no deep understanding of the cause infiltrate the community. Ideologies can clash and ugly debates can transpire. Sometimes the new discussion slowly drifts away from the original cause. Hopefully, future research will suggest these communities do more good than harm and contribute to thoughtful discussion and learning of social

It was the third semester of my freshman year in high school when I got the news. I was doing my homework in preparation for another dreadful Monday at school. I was scrolling through my Instagram timeline instead of finishing my homework when my mom asked me to cut on FOX 5 News. Now that the television was on, it gave me another excuse to procrastinate even more. My eyes were glued to the television as reporters talked about events that deserved no air time, when suddenly the segment began to air. The reporter said a black teen, named Trayvon Martin had been shot and killed in Stanford, Florida by a neighborhood watch volunteer. She said the story was still developing and information would be coming. It was relayed later that day that the neighborhood watch volunteer followed and shot Martin because he looked suspicious and up to no good, also known as black. I was so shocked. I mean, I knew that hate crimes against black people existed, but I could not tell someone a case in which it had happened recently.

Nowadays, a lot of people are using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler and so on. Since the Internet has propagated rapidly, social media have progressed a lot. The generalization of the internet makes us to live conveniently and fast. People are almost using smart phones, i-phones or comfortable devices which can access to internet. These equipments make us to do social network easily. It helps contact friends, family, and other people even though they live far away. It could be, however, abused, if you don’t use properly. Especially, it is important that we understand and regulate the use of social media by young children.

Our society has become heavily reliant on social media, and today’s younger generation cannot avoid using it in their everyday lives. As time has progressed, social media has advanced significantly, becoming easier to access with a touch of a button. These advancements provide both positive and negative consequences to youths’ relationships. Due to the rapid advancement of social media, youths’ real-life relationships with their peers have been affected both positively and negatively.

Contemporary social movements such as Arab Spring and Kony 2012 use the Internet and social media as potential tools towards change. But why are some more successful than others. This paper argues that when news outlets see the potential for change, they “premediate” (Richard Grusin) its possibilities, and make that change ever more possible in their coverage. On the other hand, extant stories that are more reactionary do not get the same amount of new exposure, and remain static. In other words, our media - not just social media, but news organizations - play a great role in shaping current events. I will compare and contrast the unfolding of the Arab Spring story, and how little changed regarding Kony 2012, as cases in point.

With the advancing globalized society that we live in, social media has become a political outlet for civilians of the interconnected world. Through this technological circuit, citizens are able to speak freely about the issues that concern them, giving them the ability to connect with others who share the same perspective. Looking through a development perspective, it is evident that social media outlets, for example twitter, have lead to major political uproar, such as the Arab Uprisings of 2011, or as popularized by the Western media, “The Arab Spring”. At this time, the demands of the protestors in the Arab region indicated their desire for greater social and economic justice and were made as a response to the growing concern regarding the Egyptian economy’s tie into the capitalist world market (Haynes, 2013). The Arab Spring was not solely a revolt against authoritarian regimes but also expressions of a crisis caused by the imbalanced social order brought upon by neoliberal policies (Bogaert, 2013). During this time, citizenry relied heavily on social media to spread information and promote insurgent agendas. Globalization and the technological facets of our hegemonic society have allowed for regular civilians to become part of the political system as exemplified through the use of social media during the Arab Spring.

With the increasing number of protests mobilised through social networks, the Internet is coming to be seen either as a force of liberation or as the new generation’s “cyber-utopia”, creating unfounded optimism and hopes of emancipation. The former view claims that social networks play a key role in shaping debates about protests and in spreading democratic ideas around the globe (especially in the case of Arab Spring).The latter view advocates that the role of internet has been exaggerated in the narratives of these protests because the very working class which fuelled the revolution did not have access to these technologies. This view suggests that it is not Facebook or Twitter that has brought about these revolutionary changes but