Today, we live in a world that is more interconnected than ever before. The invention of the internet, cellphones, and computers have almost made everyone and everything within the reach of our fingertips. With the evolution of communications technology, methods of political participation and civic engagement have also changed to adapt to this advance made by mankind. Before, our choice was limited to holding demonstrations, going out to the streets, and protesting in order for our voices to be heard. Consequently, we had no choice but to resort to lobbying and writing letters to politicians for our concerns to be known. In the present time, communication among people has been made easier with the aid of technology. Cellphones and …show more content…
Specifically, it is social media that has increased the capability of different actors – activists, citizens, non-governmental institutions, media - to connect and relate with each other in terms of the various political issues that is present in our society. It has provided the platform where a new agora in the modern era can be established. Truly, social media has made it easier for citizens to share information among themselves and has lowered the cost of participating in society.
Statement of the Problem
The accessability to participation that the internet brings was initially thought to enhance and increase political participation. Unfortunately, social media isn’t as helpful as it was initially thought out to be. Some scholars have stated that ‘slacktivism’ or political activities done through the internet have no political or social impact whatsoever. Slacktivism only serves the purpose of making these supposed ‘activists’ feel good about themselves. It makes slacktivists think that they are significantly contributing to a cause that they believe in by doing nothing more than joining a Facebook group or signing a petition. These actions make slacktivists think that they have done something that can change how society is which is why they are less likely to go out in the streets. Moreover, these online activities have been criticized as being a hindrance to change since, as said by Putnam (quoted in Christensen 2011), “people are unable
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.
Traditional media was a one-way street limiting the ability to give any thought on the issues at hand. Social media, however, offers a two-way street effect that enables the user the ability to communicate. Social media is a great tool for both keeping in touch with family and friends, as well as staying up to date on current affairs worldwide. Social media and networking sites have become popular these days and people of all ages, denominations, color and creed are meeting online to interact at social media websites.
In Mark Pfeifle’s article “Changing the Face(book) of Social Activism,” the definition of the term slacktivism is introduced with the words of the Urban Dictionary which defines it as an idea that belong to people who want to look like they are taking action to support a cause when they mostly do nothing. Despite the dictionary’s meaning of the term, Pfeifle concludes that slacktivism has completely changed social activism because people all over the world now have the ability to create impacting and beneficial reforms on society. He argues that social media is more powerful than ever, and the way people play a role in politics has changed because of it. Pfeifle gives an example of the power that social media has when he points out that the Democrats regained power through the use of social media during Obama’s run for presidency. He states that social media can form political groups with greater masses of people while reducing the expenses as well as the difficulty of organizing one anywhere in the world from Cairo to Zuccotti Park. He also supported his conclusion with the example of Kony, a cruel guerilla leader whose brutality was exposed to the world with the help of slacktivists. Keeping all these events in mind with the contribution of social media, Pfeifle sees the totality in the positive change of social activism from slacktivism. Pfeifle is right about slacktivism having successfully transformed social activism since it causes vast social changes, increases the
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
Over the years the media has made citizens major role players in politics. Ross Perot opened eyes by putting the 1992 Election in the media and thereby allowing voters to become directly involved in politics. The Internet, the new form of mass media “has turned into a major political and media industry” (Grossman 16). Because of the rise the Internet has taken, the idea of direct democracy has risen. The foundation of direct democracy is in self-government. The claim is that the presence of the Internet will increase citizens’ involvement in political issues by allowing them access to more information. This is significant because it takes a look at the impact of technology on society and politics, as well by
As a logical consequence, Postmes and Brunsting (2002) reasoned that the Internet is changing society because people's cognitive processes, triggered by access to information and communication, replace the strong social ties that traditionally underpin committed activism. In simpler words, in the past, humanity used the herd instinct as the main driving force behind committed forms of activism. Thanks to the Internet, we climb another step or three on the evolutionary ladder, and simply do away with the herd instinct and replace it with reason. The argument, if put this way, does not sound particularly strong. What can be taken away is that social media is still evolving, that social media changes the way we – or most of us communicate, that social media is used in social and political activism, and that the Internet increases quantitative if not qualitative access to information.
According to Dictionary.reference.com, activism is the policy or action of using campaigning to bring about political or social change. A huge campaign that is well known across the world, the Civil Rights Movement, was brought about by Martin Luther King, Jr. King risked his life everyday to ensure justice and equality for the African American race. “Small Change” by Malcolm Gladwell gives insight on how activism is more effective than social media, especially from one scenario at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. Gladwell points out his strong belief of what activism can do for a society rather
Some, including Malcolm Gladwell, a famous Canadian journalist, uphold a negative view that social media is not capable to make real social activisms. In the article, Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted, Gladwell states, “the platforms of social media are built around weak ties,” (Gladwell 406) whereas high-risk activisms in the past concern more of the strong ties. In other words, Malcolm believes that closed relationships are critically required for the activisms while social media only provides distant connections among acquaintances. Therefore, weak ties offered by social media, “seldom lead to high-risk activism”
In the world we live in today, people have the opportunity to interact with one another due to the advancement in technology. For many years people relied on the traditional ways of communications, for example pay phones, send letters, a house phone, in person and they even used web cam’s. Presently, people rely on modern day methods of communication such as sending text messages, emails or even messaging via social. The development of the internet has made it so much easier for people to communicate that Social Media has become the place where people interact more than ever in a mere second.
Social media is a controversy topic in today’s society. Some people think that social media destroys human interaction and real life human relationships. While others think that social media is a bless to humanity. Social media makes human interaction much more convenient and much faster than real life human interaction, it makes globalization a reality, it gives a chance for introverted people to express themselves, and it also benefit develop international relationships whether its business or social.
Social media is any website that allows social interaction. Social media is growing rapidly throughout the world. More adults and teenagers are joining sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter to interact with friends, family, and strangers. The introduction of social media has changed the world in many ways. It affects each individual in different ways. Today it can be used as a very helpful tool in changing a person’s life, but at the same time cause such conflicts which can negatively impact a person. While there are some negatives associated with social media, the positives in communication all around, has made the world stronger and a better place to live in.
The definition of iconic is very famous, well known icon or a widely known symbol. Social media is famous and can be considered a widely known symbol of popularity. Social media are websites and applications that enable users to create and share content, or to participate in social networking. Social Media is affecting our lives immensely. Sometimes the effect is positive, sometimes it’s negative. Where would we be today if Social Media hadn’t have been created? Would we be more or less social? Would we remember birthday’s or events on our own? Would there be less car accidents? No one really knows the answers to these questions. Social media is affecting our lives whether we are personally using it or not.
In today 's society, there are a multiplicity of tools derived from modern technology which has facilitated the form of communication among individuals. An example of this tool is none other than social network, the most powerful form of communication. Essentially, the world constant evolution over the years has triggered a high demand in modern technology and also changed the way humans interact. Social network, being the most influential weapon of our generation, has a great impact to impact in our lives both positively and negatively. Social network can be described as a computerized network created by society by individuals, companies, government, and many others to share information or interests, and also create ideas. In addition to, it can be used to find long lost family members, online dating, latest fashion trends, and as well as up-to-date news around the world. Social networking has become the fastest and easier form of communication among individuals across the globe. Subsequently, the shift in the social communicative landscape has resulted in the ability to get easy access to any social network account via cell phones, tablets, smart watches, and computers around the world. Today, many different news stations use social media to inform the public masses who necessarily have time to watch television. As a direct result, numerous fake news outlets whom use social networking sites such as Facebook to report fake news based on made up evidence. We are in the era
The internet has a greater impact on people today than ever before. It has been a constant source of news, entertainment, and education for users around the world for more than twenty years. However, the most revolutionary of its technologies, social media, didn’t achieve mainstream popularity until about ten years ago. As a result of this new development, Facebook, Twitter, and similar services are becoming the most visited destinations on the internet. These websites allow users to quickly and easily share pictures, links, ideas and messages with other users; theoretically facilitating social interaction. But do these self-proclaimed social networking tools actually encourage healthy human interaction? The evidence suggests that they do.
The project aim at teenagers, therefore sample group is between 13 to 19. I will set the sample sizes in 50 participants since it is easy to identity and more precision. If a sample sizes increase, it is very hard to estimate and become not accurate. Also, I’m worry about the extremes data can’t make a balance out, so the project prefers small sample sizes. It can take less effort to gain and maintain people, it is easy to produce significant results and comfortable to find a group of people. I will obtain samples from friends or friends’ sister and brother.