People with strong ties to a cause have always tried to make a
difference, but most of them in the past have done so through non-profit organizations. The ability of social media to
quickly connect one person to the world creates the illusion that
invested people can create change without need of a bureaucracy. Many people feel that social media activism has succeeded due to the election of President Obama with help from change.org. There are also many who are against this type of activism because it revolves around sitting in front of a computer. From this group, the term 'slacktavism' has been coined.
The Youmans and York article looks at social media activism as a medium that is being constrained. They give the cases of Facebook not allowing for anonymity which disrupted a platform to help people mobilize during the recent Egyptian uprising. They also bring up examples of Youtube taking down content posted by users who were at violent protests and hope to share their terrors with the rest of the world. In each of these cases Facebook and Youtube altered their policies to eventually host the content of the activists, but this took time and the momentum was lost.
These examples show that social activism is still in its infancy. Facebook, Twitter and Youtube haven't even been around for 10 years yet. It is important that we realize the impact these social media sites have for activism and the fact that these cases have been brought up and partially resolved shows a shift in progress. This type of activism is now a norm and through trial and error, groups will figure out the best way to get their message across on the internet.
P.S. This is slightly related - I was wondering what people think of the HRC logo that is really hot on Facebook right now.
Thanks for posting about social media and activism, Gracie (I find the case studies in the Youmans and York very helpful, too). However, I would amend your conclusion that social activism is still in its infancy to "social media activism," since the former has been around for quite a long time! I suspect that the Web will eventually become less and less U.S.-centric, offering a greater diversity of options that will require strategic choices about which audiences to reach, using what methods, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs for the equality logo, we might consider that a subversive or at least less individually minded use of Facebook, though I'm tempted to lump it under the Gladwell "slacktivisim" category.