Examples Of Social Activism

676 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of social media for social movement

Social Activism vs Activism
As years pass by a new issue occurs in our world, whether it is a political problem, economic, or others they grow day by day. Protest and petitions happen one day after the other, it is what our world has been and has come to. Severe changes in today's society have occurred, before people would make a group and physically go to the location of protest and fight for their rights together. Technology is the cause of the dramatic changes in society, with the many social media sites there are making it easier for one to communicate through a screen. Now a day people can just post an event on Facebook to let everyone know when there will be an event and allows you to choose if you will attend it. It makes it easier for …show more content…

I agree with his point of view, social media has made people shut
Matias 2 themselves out of the real world, hid behind a screen, and not physically fight for their rights with motivation.
There are different viewings of what activism is, Gladwell shows his viewing of social media activism, which is internet activism not being as efficient as in person. Online many people can have “friends”, they add people who they will never speak to in person. Therefore, when it comes to working together for an important cause they are not willing to do it because they do not have some type of connection with them. According to Gladwell, “Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things that people do when they are not motivated enough to make a real sacrifice” (Gladwell
408). In making this comment, Gladwell urges us to realize that social media activism promotes participation from many people but it lacks actual motivation to create a change. Although, some may strongly believe that activism that occurs online is as effective as doing it in person, this …show more content…

Throughout his article he talks about “weak-ties” and “strong-ties”. Gladwell describes the “weak-ties” as those people who just participate online because the issue that is current might not be something they can relate to therefore, it is not significant enough for them to fight for.
When talking about the “strong-ties” it seems like he is referring to those who are motivated to make a change and influence society. Those who are motivated might be close to someone who is going through a tough situation like for example, DACA being removed. If a person has a friend that is part of DACA they might be willing to go out and be in the protest, to fight for their friend's rights. Overall, I agree with this side of Gladwell’s point of view because now a day everything is easy to do with a click of a button but, it makes it harder for people to go out into the real world to speak out their thoughts and opinions. This way of activism makes people lack
Matias 3 the motivation they need to make a real sacrifice. Social activism is not as impactful as it is to take the initiative to start a change in the world no matter the

Show More
Related

  • The Role Of Nonviolent Action In Congressman Lewis's March Book 1)

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    They were willing to break unjust laws to achieve a just law. In John Lewis’ March book One, we see examples of Lewis’s days when he, himself, took part in sit-ins at dinners to be served meals. At the counters of diners, they were rejected by waitress to be served meals. In the book, we witness the brutality and beatings young protesters at counters received as well as in the movie “The Butler”. Both scenes show the consequences protesters faced once in white people’s territory. The goal of the sit-ins was to fight for equality in dining areas and restaurants. With all the violence faced during sit-ins in both book one and two, the protesters continuous pressure to integrate diners and restaurants proved to be effective because a bill was later signed to desegregate diners because of race. In today’s generation, a sit-in would not be effective because this generation’s youth does not have the will and mentality to withstand abuse from whites without fighting back. Violence answers to violence as we have seen recent violence demonstrated by young black protesters in other

    Read More

  • Vietnam: The Mixture of Protests and Politics

    1644 Words  | 4 Pages

    Protests have long been a way for people to display their difference in opinion and gain support. One of the many protests against the war that had a powerful effect on public opini...

    Read More

  • Thoreau's Role In Civil Disobedience

    387 Words  | 1 Pages

    voice their concerns in the name of justice. Thoreau's ideas on civil disobedience are a

    Read More

  • What Is Black Lives Matter Essay

    1833 Words  | 4 Pages

    By involving these other groups of people, the issue becomes a much bigger known topic. The whole movement itself is a representation of the people as underdogs.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience: Are We Morally Obliged to Obey Unjust Laws?

    2005 Words  | 5 Pages

    · Smith, Michael P, et al, Political Obligation and Civil Disobedience Readings. 1972, Thomas Y. Crowell Company: NY. Pgs. 179, 180, and 183.

    Read More

  • Small Change By Malcolm Gladwell Analysis

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    Technology has had a negative impact on this generation- we have lost and forgotten many things because of it. In Malcolm Gladwell’s “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”, he discusses the difference between social media activism and “real” activism and the loss of human connection that he has identified. He believes that with social media activism, we lack the connections a community should have because we don’t get together in person- we are satisfied with being connected through technology. He also thinks that as time goes on, we will only get worse when referring to the ideas that we are delusional because the issues we fight about (such as getting phones taken away) aren’t as important as we think.

    Read More

  • Nonviolent Protests And Social Change

    2103 Words  | 5 Pages

    Conclusion: Nonviolent protest are more effective than violent protest in effort to bring about social change.

    Read More

  • Occupy Wall Street: An Inefficient Protest

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    In America, protest has been used throughout history as a vehicle to change. Protests bring attention to issues that would or could be overlooked or ignored. A current protest receiving national attention in our media is the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest. The Occupy Wall Street protest, along with other Occupy branch protests are essentially ineffective protests. When compared to successful protests in the past, they are not having as much success gaining public support. There are many reasons this could be the case. There is no clearly defined goal or a specified outcome resulting from the protests. They are managing their funds inefficiently and in many cities they are creating more problems than they are solving.

    Read More

  • Essay Comparing Gladwell And Nicholas Carr

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gladwell’s essay discusses the developments of the social media and how it has changed social activism.”The platform of social media is based on weak ties”(Gladwell, page 174). He discusses how the Civil Rights Movement was based on strong ties among people who knew each other.People would rise up and join the revolution if they saw their friends, peers or neighbors in the news or newspapers. There is not much of a risk

    Read More

  • Essay On Popular Protest

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Assess the significance of popular protest in challenging authority and its success in bringing about change in the years 1880-1992.

    Read More

  • Response To Blare's No Need To Call By Sherry Turkle

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gladwell strongly believes that activism was viewed in a much different way before technology took over the world. In the 1960’s protests, and boycotts spread rapidly but usually only among friends. Today, information spreads to thousands of people in seconds due to social media. Gladwell believes traditional activism formed strong-ties whereas today 's movements and protests form weak-ties because of social media. People are motivated when they have close friends with them in a movement, not just through a text message. As Gladwell states, “where activists were once defined by their causes, they are now defined by their tools.” (Gladwell 408) Gladwell believes these tools can’t really help a social activism movement, but he does acknowledge the speed of social media networks. But, without news and social media how will the information spread? Anything placed on the internet can be broadcasted to a large audience within seconds. Gladwell writes: “Social networks are effective at increasing participation—by lessening the level of motivation that participation requires.” (Gladwell 408) Gladwell makes a good point but how will the motivation ever be there without people receiving information? Nevertheless social media has many flaws, but with other tools

    Read More

  • The Limits Of Friendships By Maria Konnikova

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever made any friends via Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat that you have never met before? I know I have through Twitter due to having the same interests. Some may say those friends are not really your friends, but virtual ones instead. In the article, “The Limits of Friendships,” by Maria Konnikova, she talks about friendships that are made virtually and in reality. The author argues that the use of social media has hindered friendships and face to face connections within one’s social circle, however, she does not address that they have met their closest support group through social media. Face to face connections help identify who one’s true friends are and they are more realistically made when it is in person rather than over social media, but there Konnikova fails to address the fact that social media has allowed many to connect

    Read More

  • The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    This summer if you were on social media you heard about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The concept was simple, just film yourself dumping a bucket of ice water over your head, challenge your friends to do the same, and donate ten dollars to the ALS Association. Opt out and donate one hundred dollars (Madison). Many Americans did not know what ALS was and by putting this challenge on social media has brought tons awareness to this devastating disease. Activism used to be taking action to bring social change, people in the 1960s used to gather in front of community centers and protest and or speak about their issue or cause. Now even though people still gather together it is much easier to use the internet. Hundreds of social media applications

    Read More

  • Social Movement Persuasion

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    One example of this Is the Arab Springs anti-government protests of 2011 that occurred across the Middle East. These protests, both non-violent and turning violent, began in Tunisia in 2010 and were in response to the corrupt and authoritarian leadership of then President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. This time, with the emergence of technology and social media, talks began claiming sentiments towards their failing government, calling for action to be done. In addition to statements online, activists allied together and started protest rallies and revolts in outrage and anger at their supposed leaders. Social media allowed for people to organize group demonstrations fairly quickly, easily, and cohesively. While this revolt originated in Tunisia, other nations joined in with the aid of technology, and it spread across the region in the following years to Egypt, Syria, Libya and many other Middle Eastern countries.

    Read More

  • Discuss the concept of Digital Activism and the socio-political role of the individual in today’s Postmodern Global Village

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    The members of an online activism campaign must understand the fundamentals of solving the many communication and technology-related problems as sufficiently as possible. According to the resources available, each member of the team will be assigned one or more role(s), but a large group of specialists (Larger amount of resources available) will achieve their goal a lot more efficiently than a small group of generalists (Smaller amount of resources available) fulfilling multiple roles (Osvaldo, G., 27 June 2011, Roles in digital activism, viewed 26 April 2014, from http://www.digitalactivist.net/articles/roles-in-digital-activism/).

    Read More

More about Examples Of Social Activism

Open Document