They once required a public square, a soapbox, and a daring speaker willing to stand upon it. Now some argue that a modern revolution merely requires an internet service provider, an office chair, and a savvy blogger—and perhaps the occasional self-immolation. However, while the latest technology can quickly generate the critical mass necessary for viable social change, it would be an oversimplification to assign it too much credit; that would be analogous to praising the tool and not the mechanic for fixing a flat tire. No doubt, social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter were instrumental in the recent removal of Hosni Mubarak, but these technologies were merely facilitators. For Egypt, however, these technological facilitators were neither necessary nor sufficient for the success of the revolution—they simply emboldened the winds of change which brought Jasmine across the Egypt’s western border. While the means for distributing the seeds of revolution have certainly changed, the soils of mass discontent—the fundamental necessity—remain consistent through the ages.
In “The Causes of Internal Conflict,” Brown lays out the necessary conditions for domestic instability. Brown classifies the four underlying factors (the “permissive conditions” ) as structural, political, socioeconomic or cultural/perceptual. With respect to the revolution in Egypt, socioeconomic and political factors provided the climate for mass unrest. The economic situation in Egypt illustrates a Marxist class struggle, where those in power “oppress and exploit the less powerful by denying them their fair share of the surplus they create.” With rising food prices, decreases in tourism revenues, and over 10 million Egyptians living on less tha...
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...holar, Alexander Wendt, elaborates on the importance of identity, defining it as the “basis of interests.” In Egypt the basis of interest became the revolution. Still, while social media may have accelerated the formation of a collective identity, the socioeconomic and political conditions ultimately carried the day in Egypt.
Though social media may have replaced soapboxes and political pamphlets, one must remember that those media actually existed and proved effective. After all, the last time this author checked, Thomas Paine did not Tweet sis way into American lore. Analyzing current events solely through the most contemporary of lenses is a flawed practice. In the end, the hyper-extolling of Facebook and Twitter is as unfounded as it is disrespectful. To chalk up the revolution in Egypt as a technological phenomenon is to deride the human spirit.
“Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted” by Malcolm Gladwell is an article published in the Annals of Innovation, by The New Yorker magazine. Gladwell starts with an example of true activism. He opens the article with a depiction of how the Greensboro sit-ins contributed to the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. Then the author supplies two examples of protests that have taken place in recent years that some people have said were started and organized on Twitter. He then goes on to clarify why Twitter was not a factor in these events and how media and government can distort certain truths about social media’s role in protests. The author continues the article by explaining why communication and relationships were more efficient before the era of social media and then compares social networking from the past and now. He uses this strategy to illustrate social media’s effect on how we interact and our commitment towards one another. Gladwell goes on to explain the organization of activist groups of the past and its
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 presence of a hierarchical organizations. In contrast, Gladwell characterizes the social networks as an interwoven web of "weak ties" that is inherently devoid of a hierarchy. Gladwell’s prerequisites for social movement are firmly based in strong body of sociological evidence, but his views regarding the nature of online social networks are laughably lacking in foresight and obstructed by a misleadingly selective body of evidence.
The article named “spring awakening” wrote by Jose Vargas describes the impact of social media in converting the mentality of young Egyptian generations into bold and defend their inalienable rights as a citizen. This article justifies how social media can mobilize a tremendous number of people to stand up for their rights. The reasons that inspire my emotion is emerging of “Wael Ghonim” as a legendary vocal figure of action for change, revelation of social media as earthquake for change, and fundamental soci-political change.
Throughout his book, Dobson mentions several examples of the effect of social media and mass media on dictatorship. For example, Dobson thoroughly talks about how a large group of people around the world quickly came together to protest against the dictatorship. This incident arose from “an anonymous call for a Chinese Jasmine Revolution…over social media and the Chinese equivalent of Twitter” (Dobson 50). Dobson later mentions that China’s senior leaders had a meeting on how they should control China’s mass and social media on the events happened in the Middle East, so that such incident would not occur in the future (50). This effect of social media and the ...
Often times social media isn’t given much thought, and protestors come together and then fall apart. Violence strikes, extremist messages are conveyed, and the central goal becomes lost. If our society looks at social media in a different light, we could find a way to strengthen our activism, instead of ruin it. Twitter isn’t going to disappear, Facebook won’t get shut down, people aren’t going to throw away their phones. We have to adapt. Transforming how we can integrate technology, instead of banishing it, is our only option, because let’s be honest: millennials are too connected. But maybe if we stop seeing this as a bad thing, and rather an adaptive necessity, then our revolution can continue. As Gladwell explains, activism “challenges the status quo” (4). So why not challenge the way we view social
These tools are social media websites allowing individuals the quick spread of information with the literal touch of a button. There have been instances, such as the Twitter Revolution where activism spread via tweets. Although tweeting was prevalent in the United States, there has been much controversy over social media’s actual aid in activism in Iran (401). Gladwell brings in prominent blogger Golnaz Esfandiari to support his claim that the Twitter Revolution in actuality did not occur. Esfandiari writes, “’Through it all, no one seemed to wonder why people trying to coordinate protests in Iran would be writing in any language other than Farsi” (403). Majority of the tweets were in English and posted in the western hemisphere rather than Iran or southeast Asia. Gladwell emphasizes how social activism is occurring more often via social
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.
While many people throughout the world see social media as a trendy new application in the service of personal amusement, the political upheavals in the Arab world have shown how it can change the dynamics of modern day activism. The Arab Spring Uprising interlaced social unrest with a technological revolution. Blogs, news websites, twitter feeds, and political list servers became avenues for communication, information flow and solidarity. Being capable of sharing an immense amount of uncensored information through social media sites has contributed to the success of many Arab Spring activists. Social media played a role in facilitating the events of the Arab Spring, but the main issues are rooted in a broader set of economic, political, and social factors. This paper will examine how social media impacted the Arab Spring Uprising. Specifically, I will look at how social media introduced a novel resource that helped to created internet activist communities, changed the dynamics of social mobilization and revolutionized interactions between protesters and the rest of the world.
The issues of how technology is influencing our nation today has come into play with social media and surveillance in our personal lives. We use twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. to express our opinions on things and as a voice to inform people on what’s going on in today’s society. We have learned how to use the tools we’ve been given to change our lives forever; our government has access to all of our personal information in exchange for our protection against terrorism. In Bijan Stephen’s article on “Black Lives Matter” and Rebecca McKinnon’s chapter on “the Arab Spring”, they both touch on the power of technology in negative and positive ways.
In an article captioned “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted” Malcolm Gladwell, a writer for the New Yorker, and crowned one of Time magazine’s top 100 greatest influential people in 2005, argues that, social media is effective in uniting a large group for a cause, but ineffective in promoting high-risk activism.
For centuries, individuals have come together from all aspects of life to fight for a common goal or belief. This unity took quite some time be organized due to the simplicity of media and the slowness of word of mouth. The growth and popularity of social media has not only revolutionized the world but, more specifically, has had a massive influence on the expression of ideas and beliefs on an international sector. Author Malcolm Gladwell has sparked controversy in regards to his argument in Small Change: Why the Revolution Won’t Be Tweeted. Gladwell claims social networks are effective at increasing participation—by lessening the level of motivation that participation requires. In other words, participation in popular issues has increased as a result of social media because this participation requires very little motivation or effort. Majority of the time, a few clicks on a mouse qualify as “participation”. I strongly defend Gladwell’s thesis because the world of social media has proved, in several instances, to be less effective at sparking change as opposed to
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’s 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 presence of a hierarchical organizations. In contrast, Gladwell characterizes the social networks as an interwoven web of "weak ties" that is inherently devoid of a hierarchy. Gladwell’s prerequisites for social movement are firmly based in strong body of sociological evidence, but his views regarding the nature of online social networks are laughably lacking in foresight and obstructed by a misleadingly selective body of evidence.
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’s 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 presence of a hierarchical organizations. In contrast, Gladwell characterizes the social networks as an interwoven web of "weak ties" that is inherently devoid of a hierarchy. Gladwell’s prerequisites for social movement are firmly based in strong body of sociological evidence, but his views regarding the nature of online social networks are laughably lacking in foresight and obstructed by a misleadingly selective body of evidence.
In mere minutes, any active user can access information and associations regarding various causes, such as the riots happening in Egypt and the Middle East. Teenagers, in the Middle East, used their Facebook accounts to campaign the “Day of Rage” in Saudi Arabia. Helping to set the Arab riots in motion, the event demanded elections, freedom for women, and the liberation of political prisoners. The activists’ goals to bring democracy to Egypt and removing Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s fourth president from 1981 to 2011, still continue and perhaps with the assistance of Facebook they will accomplish these ambitions. The causes campaigned through Facebook have served as a fundraise...
Safranek, Rita. 2012. The Emerging Role of Social Media in Political and Regime Change. s.l. : Proquest, 2012.