Does Social Media Reinvent Social Activism?

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 following quote from the essay is an excellent example of the distinction that he makes, “The evangelists of social media don’t understand this distinction; they seem to believe that a Facebook friend is the same as a real friend and that signing up for a donor registry in Silicon Valley today is activism in the same sense as sitting at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro in 1960.” This quote also brings to light his opinion about the level of commitment and sacrifice activism demands now compared to a less technological age. He makes the point that social media and technology make contributing to a cause, such as the Save Darfur Coalition page on Facebook, much easier today because they can reach greater number of people and that people are more likely to contribute because it costs them little in terms of resources (time, money, travel ect). He also weighs the merits of the structure of activism through social media versus the structure of a more centralized

There are many protests, sit ins, marches, that are organized or spread through media more than of word of mouth. There are underground social media groups where some of these things happen, even one for campuses across the nation to speak about social justice. It is true that people have to know someone to get “invited” in or to “join” but it is not as easy for someone to sabotage it as Gladwell stated when writing about if Dr. King had tried this. Whereas Dr. King may have had people at church all in one place, that may not be as easy now to catch people at the same time. I could even argue that people would use social media to coordinate a meeting place and a time so they could organize in

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.

Since the introduction of the internet and Wi-Fi, services like Netflix and YouTube have sparked new opportunities for Americans and the World alike. It has also given rise to new voices and freedom to express one's opinions and beliefs. Before social media and the internet, activist groups like Green Peace or protests against a believed injustice required people to physically participate. Now with the assistance of Facebook and Tweeter, more individuals are able to speak out without even leaving their homes. One recent event was the Dakota Pipeline Protest in April of 2016. Besides, the members of more than 300 Native American tribes and more than 3000 to 4000 additional supporters stood against the proposed pipeline. The number of people

Today, people seem blinded by their outsized enthusiasm for social media. According to them, a few clicks can change the whole world and accomplish wonders such as curing cancer. Good intentions become sufficient on their own, as if there were no need for medicine and scientific researches anymore. Well, this is pure nonsense. Facebook’s likes cannot save African children from starvation, the same way Twitter’s 140 characters will not put an end to acts of terrorism. This notion is not even remotely debatable. For instance, the project Kony2012 had a perfect starting point; inspiring video, moving story and most importantly worldwide spread. Unfortunately, the terrorist is still at liberty, and the lack of thorough investigations is to blame. Instead of focusing on the real problems of war and kidnapping of children, the so-called activist related to the obvious and spent all of his money and energy on his movie. Ultimately, due to the predominance of weak-ties, the project was not successful. More importantly, certain tools of social networks, especially “likes” and “retweets”, encourage people to feel good about themselves, when actually they should incite them to put their efforts and means in the cause they supposedly defend. As Gladwell wrote, “[current] activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things that

Their actions alone sparked the revolution for sit-ins and silent protesting, contributing to the Civil Rights movement. The protesters didn’t put anything on social media that allowed their sit in at the diner to grow, but simply the sight of how “people spilled out onto the street”(Gladwell 400) that grabbed activists’ attention. Gladwell observes that in the absence of social media in these events, the protesters tend to be stronger, have emotional bonds, and be more organized. The people participating in the revolt had strong connections (strong-ties), due to the fact that they all share a high risk of consequences. Talking about the dangers starting on page 404, protesters faced violence from the Klu Klux Klan and other white supremacists. Gladwell uses the examples of the revolutions in Moldova and Iran to show how while Facebook and Twitter did let people be “confident to stand up for freedom and democracy” (401), the use of that social media is a weak-tie. Social media helped bring awareness to these, but as Gladwell explains “social networks are effective at increasing participation-by lessening the level of motivation that participation requires” (408). He talks about how social

This attention seeking nature, this focus on people, whom we will never form bonds, with instead of focusing on those who care about us, people that would give anything to make us happy, the people we have strong ties with; that is what we need to focus on. But, what if we did meet these people? What if these people that we have "weak ties" ties with really do care about our well being. Zeynep Tufekci, in her Ted Talk, "Online social change: easy to organize, hard to win" challenges Gladwell directly with her own experiences and knowledge of human nature. "It's also not true, as Malcolm Gladwell claimed, that today's protesters form weaker virtual ties. No, they come to these protests, just like before, with their friends, existing networks, and sometimes they do make new friends for life. I still see the friends that I made in those Zapatista-convened global protests more than a decade ago, and the bonds between strangers are not worthless. When I got tear-gassed in Gezi, people I didn't know helped me and one another instead of running

Malcolm Gladwell’s article "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will not be Tweeted" raises a significant question about the prospective contribution of web-based social networking to the advent of progressive social movement and change. Gladwell bold declaration that "the revolution will not be tweeted" is reflective of his view that social media has no useful application in serious activism. Contrasting various elements of the “high-stakes” lunch-counter protests in Greensboro, North Carolina in the 1960’s with the “low-stakes” activism achieved through social media, Gladwell concludes that effective social movements powerful enough to impose change on longstanding societal forces require both “strong ties” among participants and the

Activism using the Internet and other new media is increasingly having an impact in broadening the scope of civic action in support of human rights in East Asia. Select one or two case studies of activism in ONE East Asian country studied in this course. With regard to your chosen case studies, how effective is online activism as a force for social change? How are government authorities responding to the challenge of internet activism?

In the reading “Small Change : Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted,” Malcolm Gladwell discusses the act of four brave college students and their act of social activism. The four freshmen from a local all black college sat down at a counter in a diner near Greensboro, North Carolina and were denied service because of their race. The students refused to leave and instead started a protest there at the restaurant. The numbers of people protesting with the four young men increased as the story spreaded across states. The story of the sit in was done without the use of any technology or social network. Gladwell discussed the effectiveness of the sit-in because of the relationship between

To build his argument, he ties in similar examples from history that involve either social or political activism. Not only does he connect these examples to the “weak ties” that the platforms of social media are built upon, but he also offers insight to his readers, the general public, and social-networking gurus (Gladwell 551). In his essay, “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”, Gladwell creates a rhetorically effective argument that illustrates why social networking is not an adequate way to conduct social or political activism.

As technology develops rapidly in the modern society, the broad social influence it brings is also widely discussed, especially about its effects on social change. In the past, social movements were raised without the help of technology, specifically without social media, whereas social media has recently played a non-ignorable role. The connection between social media and social activisms concerned, here come some different voices. Few people maintain that social media now has no practical influence on social change, while others hold the opposite view, thinking social media is already a crucial factor in it. Personally speaking, I agree with the second kind of view: it is true that social media is not able to create social movements by itself in today’s world, but it plays an important and essential part in making real social change.

No matter how much potential social media has for political or societal change it is important to criticize its negative aspects. An article written by Andrea Moncada, begins her argument with the question has social media had the same impact on advocacy. Similar to Gladwell’s points of view, Moncada states, “social media can help get the word around, but participants must be united by a core message and traditional methods…” This source of uncertainty is the basis for its support and is understandable.

There have been notable demonstrations throughout history that have succeeded but most of these rallies failed to achieve changes in public policies. The hodgepodge groups that participate have no formal affiliation with one another, no clear hierarchy, and no obvious leaders. The writer argues that even though the people are trying to make a difference by taking to the streets, the government’s response to such demonstrations is disappointing as they bring about little to no change to the targeted policies. According to him, it is very easy to gather an outraged group through social media. These marches, he argues, are detrimental to the community as it either ends in a violent confrontation with the police or it just dies out because of the lack of direction in the protestors; who are not kept engaged in the political