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| Tahrir Square, Egypt |
For the past few weeks we have been reading about and discussing the possibilities and failures of revolutions. The video below is a TED talk by Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim, who in 2011 used social media as a way to inform and build solidarity for the Egyptian Revolution. A tech savvy Google executive living in Dubai, Ghonim started a Facebook page called "We Are Khaled Said" in support of Khaled Said who was tortured and killed by Egyptian police. From this page, he published invitations and locations of protest sites, which he coordinated with protest organizers in Egypt. In January 2011 he left Google Dubai to join the protests on the ground but he disappeared on the 27th of January. After various social media campaigns, including blog posts demanding Ghonim's whereabouts, he was finally released after 11 days of detention.
Today, Ghonim through his activism via social media, is recognized as one of the catalysts for the protests that grew into the revolution that deposed Hosni Mubarak from his 30-year reign as president. He was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential in 2011 for his social media activism and in this Ted Talk, he discusses the power of social media as a tool for revolution.
In your blog post, discuss your thoughts about Ghonim's talk and the effectiveness of social media in activism and inciting revolutionary movements. Consider the following questions as you respond to the post: Are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media outlets viable places for activism? Why or why not? How can social media be used effectively in activism? Do you think social media is an effective tool for inciting change? Why or why not? (Note: you do not need to answer all of these questions. Pick one or two to respond to on your post.)
This post must be 2-3 paragraphs long and must be posted by April 29th at 5:00 pm to receive credit.
As the world's technology is greatly developed, social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., is viral among people all around the world. There are thousands of millions of users who are active in social media. In my opinion, social media became the one of the viable places for activism that can be the effective tool for inciting such actions. First of all, the most advantageous aspect of social media as a great place for activism is ubiquity (or omnipresence). For example, even though I am living in the United States, my friends in South Korea can see my status and daily pictures through Instagram and Facebook. Moreover, not only people of various ethnicities/nationalities exist, but also various people with their own distinctive ideas/beliefs exist among social media. So, even though the revolution is related to some minor belief, those people with that belief can join together through social media. These days, social media is like a spider web that connects every individual into some events and ideas.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the effectiveness of social media for rebellion, if an activist expresses his/her stance and objectives for the revolution, the people in various countries who have the same opinion with an activist will join him with such rebellious actions by hearing related information through ubiquitous SNS. Becoming the gathering place, social media network. However, there are some negative influence caused by social media to activists. For instance, there might be some conflict between people with different ideas if an activist incite a rebellion in social network. This might further lead to the conflict between those people with different ideas, losing the main objective as an activism: a peaceful form of resistance. Nonetheless, against some worries, as an technetronic age, social media is a great place to start activism.
When it comes to activism I think social media can be of great help for any cause. In the case of Ghonim it helped him and I'm sure in many other cases it is a positive form of activism. I've seen it on Facebook and Twitter all the time. I think that the social media is a form of activism but it is only the first step. Not a whole lot of things can be done if people are sitting behind their phones or screens. Millions of people all over the world use the social media and i think it is a great place where people can gather information and people with the same ideas can come together. As seen in the video when a Facebook page was created "We are all Khaled" soon a lot of people with the same ideals came together in order to do something about it, they did not have a clear plan on what or how to do something but they at least knew that all those people wanted the same thing.
ReplyDeleteSocial media can be a viable place to get people to come together and to share ideas. If millions of people root together for a change on social media websites, they can't be easily ignored, attention is surely to come their way. An idea or hope for a change that is backed up by millions of people cannot be ignored even more when it is made public all around the world. If there is one issue pertaining one country but that issue is made public all around the world, there will be an international interest to the issue. Social media cannot be used as the only tool for change because that will not do a lot, but it will if after that there is a plan to be followed with one set goal.
As we have seen in Persepolis and Boxers, many people who participate in protests during revolutions are young. Many social media users are also young adults (not all, obviously), so given that fact, social media can be a great tool for people to share ideas and collaborate during a time where they feel like they are going through certain experiences alone. Ghonim mentions in his video that it is place where people can see that they in fact, are not alone and that many people share the same dreams and problems as them. Even though people are located in different places and come from different backgrounds, social media creates a connection between people where they can relate.
ReplyDeleteSocial media can be a great forum to initiate and educate people on a certain subject matter and with the exponentially increasing connectedness of the world, people all across the globe have access to information that was posted by people that could be thousands of miles away from them. That right there is powerful. I've seen posts on my Facebook feed that originated from months ago and are simply raising awareness for a particular issue or want a certain amount of likes, etc. and I have no idea who the person is, but here's there agenda, on my profile. Social media can be a powerful tool to lead and initiate change because it is by the people and for the people. Ghonim mentions that there is usually no leader on the Facebook groups, which is why it can be so successful. It's simply educated minds gathering together for a common cause to bring about new ideas and initiate change. There can be problems with social media though because people have the freedom to almost say whatever they want. Like Jin Hee said above, people can lose sight of the main goal of peaceful activism if they find someone disagrees with their opinion or says something hurtful and inappropriate to them. It is important to remember we are all individuals with differing opinions, who have the right to share those, but we have to be cautious with the way we choose to portray or say things on the internet.
I believe that social media including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are extremely viable places for activism. With a consumer/user base numbering in the billions, the potentials these media platforms have are incredible. People throughout the entire world can be made knowledgeable about news, whether it be on celebrities or activism. Social media can be used effectively if possibly utilized by governments or even other groups as a source of news.
ReplyDeleteArab Spring is the perfect example of social media effectively being used in activism to incite change. People living within the revolutions used social media such as Facebook and Twitter to bring to light the events that were happening in their countries in a manner made much more accessible than before. The news was no longer contained within Arab world, but was opened up to people residing in the Western and Eastern civilizations of the world.
I believe the root of activism lies in grassroot movement, and in order for grassroot movement to grow larger more people must be made aware of the problems at hand. Social media is the perfect platform for people to become easily aware, and thus contribute to ongoing activism.
After hearing Wael Ghonim’s talk and reflecting on my own experiences with social media and activism, I would say that social media outlets are viable places for activism, as long as people are active outside of the computer as well. Activism cannot stop at social media. In Ghonim’s case, the pictures and stories he posted helped keep people informed about the injustices that took place. This helped people become aware of what was going on and unite people who felt the same injustices. Clearly it worked, as thousands of people showed up for the protest. For Ghonim, social media was a tool which made that happen. I do not think the government would have paid much attention had everyone simply “liked” the posts and gone about their day. The events and organization helped create something much bigger.
ReplyDeleteSocial media acts as a tool for activism by doing the main job of reaching a political goal- raising awareness. When we were discussing Persepolis, we mentioned that one of the main reasons our generation is not very active is that there is a huge lack of awareness for what is going on in the world. Yet our world has never had so much information available at its fingertips in its entire history. How does our generation spend its valuable time? Oh, on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube of course. I remember in high school when the “Kony 2012” campaign was running. Maybe it crashed and burned after Jason Russell’s actions led to some questions of character, but my whole school was buzzing about “Cover the Night” and the atrocities that the child soldiers in Africa faced. And it spread so quickly because of the posts and reposts of the YouTube Video on social media. When a huge event is coming up on campus, half of my friends list has the same profile picture. As hashtags start trending and posts receive hundreds of likes, they become the first thing I see as I procrastinate on writing a blog-post. This is how social media works to raise awareness. In the same way Ghonim raised awareness through pictures, videos, and stories. As he said, this helped break down that psychological barrier of fear, and bring people together outside of the virtual world to protest the regime.
I believe that social media is a valuable and nowadays vita tool for social activism. Modern activists' ability to so easily reach so many people is unprecedented in history. Social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube provide activists with an unbelievably large audience with whom to share their message (Facebook alone has 1.28 billion users, according to my google search). It has also never been easier for people who want to get involved to learn how to do so. A quick google search will help you find Facebook groups or accounts for an endless variety of causes and organizations. Perhaps most significantly, social media sites have also made it possible for anyone to become an activist. Anyone with a relatively average sized social network has the ability to instantly broadcast their beliefs to a few hundred people via a Facebook post or tweet. Not a day goes by where I don't see someone on my newsfeed asking their friends to donate to their fundraiser, attend their event, support their charity, or simply read this news article they found so enlightening. I even have some friends who only hear about current events through CNN breaking news tweets. As people become more and more connected to the world through social media, social activists' power to use social media to effect change grows.
ReplyDeleteOf course, social activism will only have a lasting effect if it can incite people to action through the use of social media. Joining a group on Facebook or retweeting is not the same as participating in a rally. As Gohnim's story shows, however, many of the people who become involved in a cause through social media are very willing to become actively involved as well. Social media by itself may not be strong enough to enact meaningful change, but it is an invaluable step in the process.
Social media can be used as an outlet for change or for a greater purpose, Ghohim and his Facebook page "We Are Khaled Said" is an example of that. I loved how he created the page, not knowing who would respond or even if anyone was going to, and then I think just a day after there was thousands of replies. This page became the people’s strength, and in this particular case I think that social media can be used effectively in activism when they not only use the virtual world but they extend their beliefs and power to the real world. Ghohim’s silent stand is the perfect instance of the virtual world of activism coming into the real world. They not only exercised their activism in social media, but continued it outside. I think for social media to work effectively in activism, it has to branch out into the outside world, it can start and group up together on the internet, but it has to expand to the real world. There has to actually be some physical action. The whole idea of rallying together on a social media device is extremely powerful and a great way to collaborate revolutionary ideas, and actions.
ReplyDeleteGhohim said that when it comes to social media pages the unique and exceptional advantage is, “there was no leader; the leader was everyone on that page.” In social media devices people are able to speak their minds and not worry about their constant fear. There is a sense of anonymousness with social media sites, so people who have the, “psychological barrier of fear” are able to get over that barrier and express what they have been holding in for years and years. They finally have a voice, the social media sites give the repressed a reprieve, and let them speak. When Ghohim told the story about the taxi driver that was an instance of how social media can be used effectively in activism, it can reach anyone and everyone who wants to see change. “I am breathing freedom” that is what the taxi driver said to Ghohim, change and a revolution started on a social media site and has the ability to reach everyone. Ghohim’s final words in his talk were extremely moving, “The power of the people is much stronger than the people in power.” Social media can be used as an outlet for producing change! People want to express their frustration and anger, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and any other media devices let the people do so.
I believe that social media is a viable place for activism because it is the most efficient way to communicate with people across the globe within minutes. Although social media in our generation has in a sense become an obsessive, time-consuming stimulation, it has also provided people with the ability spread the word about various events, programs, and of course political activism. Ghonim presents several paramount ideas regarding the effectiveness of activism on social media expressing the idea that sites such as Facebook and Twitter allow us get the attention of thousands of other people, something that would be virtually impossible through any other form of networking. Social media has become more than a place to be able to post goofy pictures and write about pointless activities that may have happened throughout the day. It has become a place where people can express their beliefs, organize rallies, and encourage others to become involved. Strategically, social media is an extremely effective form of activism.
ReplyDeleteThe effectiveness of social media is reflected through the way in which people portray their thoughts and beliefs on various sites. The most effective way to get people’s attention is to appeal to a broad audience without making people feel pressured to take one side or to fight against another side. Most people on social media do not want to be constantly harassed to join your organization or “like” a certain page, but rather may be influenced when a resepectful, yet informative post catches their eye. Activism is effective over social media when people are able to gain an understanding of a recurring event, or an important political regime that may be taking place. When posts are constructed in a tactful manner, social media can be a very effective form of activism.
Although social media is widely abused by many people worldwide today, it can be used as an enlightening form of communication. One person may have five hundred friends on Facebook, however, if just half of those people were able to inform just a few people each, the number of informed people would multiple exponentially within minutes. The negatives of social media are often amplified, but often people do not recognize the importance of such sites in making a difference through activism.
-Emily Martinez
Today’s social media outlets can be reliable tools for activism, but the activism cannot end on the Internet. It must be a starting place, and a place for planning and organization. Social media cannot be the final step or the only step in activism. Facebook especially can be an extremely useful method to mobilize and unify people. Social media also a great way to spread messages quickly. Ghonim’s talk emphasizes that the Internet is an excellent way for people to realize that their frustrations with an oppressive regime are not unique and that they are not alone. Speaking out under an oppressive regime can be very dangerous as we have seen in Persepolis, so by having a virtual meeting place, more people can speak their minds freely. Social media provides the platform for people to collectively rise up as the truth can spread rapidly despite attempts at censorship. Though it was not mentioned in Ghonim’s talk, the Egyptian government blacked out the Internet during the uprisings as they realized the power that it gave the revolutionary movement.
ReplyDeleteThe down side to the Internet and social media includes that there are no mediators to the conversation. As Ghonim points out, there are no leaders to guide the path of the revolution. Multiple ideas may develop, but planning without action leads to nothing. Also, trolls can derail a conversation if no one blocks their input. Based on personal experience, it is easy to ignore impersonal, mass-message pleads for money from acquaintances, especially since there seem to be so many different, worthy causes.
The activism that took place in the Arab world using social media platforms is quite a remarkable example of the power behind the Internet and the ability to connect people. The same type of activism seems unlikely to occur in the context of the U.S. without an outrageous precipitating event that would cause people to demand change. It’s important to remember that the events that incited the uprisings in Egypt did not begin on the Internet. As the murder and torture of Khaled Said was shared via social media, instead of hearing whispers regarding his death, everyone was hit with the violent images as if they were experiencing his murder first-hand. Hearing others’ stories and sharing images is especially powerful since the audience can feel empathy, realize that enough is enough, and rise up together.
Recently, I had to attend a training where they did a group activity where each of us was given a word! For this word we must find the dictionary definition and then create a definition that encompassed our meaning of the word. One of the groups had the word 'community' and rest assured that the dictionary definition deviated at large from what we believed the word to mean. The dictionary definition was "a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common." Obviously, a community is more than that, they do not have to live in the same place and do not have to share anything. They can simply be a support network and this is the point I am heading towards. With the rise of the internet and the growth of social media, the growth of virtual communities correlate with such growth. These virtual communties usually share the same views or fleeting passions.
ReplyDeleteIt is because of the accesibility and translucensy of the internet that makes it such a great way to divulge information specially within a small amount of time. It is easy, practicle, effortless, time efficient, and economically attainable. It is in this form the greatest tool for the masses, the discontent, or basic unification. The greater impact is the ability to make a virtual community unite in the real world. Much like Ghonim's story of the people that dressed in black and just stood in silence. Despite them peacefully protesting they were seen as a threat by the government. The ability to make videos and images available, to have an insider's perspective in spite of so much censorship is the power of the internet, the only way to maintain some sense of transperency in worlds that are so disconnected and blind to each other and to connect them with a greater sense of unity and understanding.
I definitely think that social media is an effective way to promote activism and to communicate amongst a vast amount of people, as shown in the turnout of the Egyptian Revolution. A lot of people, especially adults, think that social media has a negative impact on our generation, however, this is untrue as it can be used for the greater good. I think the world is slowly starting to come to terms with the fact that there are many advantages of social media. It is a lot easier to plan activist activities such as protests because an unlimited amount of people have access to information about an event and the ability to share this information with others with just a click of a button. This information can be accessed from any location around the world. Social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have helped me to become aware of certain events happening around the world that I probably would not have known about otherwise. It is even possible to access this information on the go with your phone without even having to be near a computer or a television.
ReplyDeleteAn example of social media being used effectively for activism was the Invisible Children Stop Kony campaign in 2012. Although I believe that it turned out to be a scam, this is a prime example of how quickly a word can get spread. It is almost dangerous and teaches not to believe everything you see or hear. The organization used a documentary to communicate the problems going on and what we needed to do to fix it. This video went viral in only a few days and shows how a message can start out on one persons computer, be sent to computers around the world, and end up on national television. This method of communication can apply to all news events. If social media was invented during the time of the Boxer Rebellion, it would have been a lot easier to gain recruits, or for the Boxers to be aware of what was happening in Peking. At that time, the boxers traveled on foot to communicate messages to different parts of the country. This is why I think social media is an effective tool for activism. It can get a word spread quickly and leave it up to the people how they want to react.
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ReplyDeleteI have never really thought of social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter or instagram as being a viable place for political activism. Personally I have viewed social media as purely a form of entertainment, websites dedicated to hosting personal pictures and puff piece articles. Therefore I think it will require quite a transition for heavy-handed issues to be displayed on the social media sites. In Ghonim's TED talk, he used wikipedia as a reference, praising the creation of an encyclopedia that is made from the contributions of individuals across the globe. Though wikipedia is very useful, the validity of the information on there might be undependable due to the lack of filtering and editing. I feel that in a similar sense, wikipedia is like social media, in that everyone is allowed to post without means of filtration. Information is often portrayed in a disorganized manner.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the nature of social media sites can be the root of its success as an outlet for politicism. Social media's uncensored nature is free of regulation and governmental bias. Individuals may post comments and create groups to their desire and find followers that share similar beliefs. If a group gains enough standing then their beliefs can be effectively spread to a large audience. Also given the unfiltered nature and wide diversity of social media users there will less organized bias such as that seen in traditional forms of media such as TV news or journals. Since news stations are often aligned with a certain political ideology they tend to present objective information in a subjective manner. Therefore, I do believe that social media can be a potentially powerful tool for activism given that there does need to be a transition for it be evolve into a platform more commonly used for political engagement.