Has Social Media Reinvented Social Activism?

Fun to me is how any platform such as Twitter or Facebook could be considered new voices of social activism… sitting on your broadening rear and typing snarky or hateful lines or even well-thought-out ideas and position arguments is not activism.

However, it is undeniable that Twitter did reinvent social activism in a significant way. Sometimes, social activism is also transformed by the voices of rightwing hate, such as when Elon Musk's intervention changes the gates of Twitter. In fact, it's the social media's unique function that enables such changes. Thanks to Twitter, we are seeing a renaissance in mob justice and public shaming which had been removed from many legal systems including the UK and the USA due to its barbaric attributes.

With the advent of the Internet and social media, social activists have increasingly turned to social media as a vehicle for social change. This development argues that social media has played a vital role in reinventing social activism, specifically on platforms like Twitter. These are highlighted through the widespread use and features of Twitter, which ultimately organize groups, mobilize support, and raise awareness. It also strengthens the idea that social media activism has stimulated bottom-up decentralization.

Understanding Social Media and Social Activism

Defining Social Media

As defined by Merriam-Webster (2021), social media can be described as “websites and applications that allow users to create and share content or to enable users to take part in communicating with others.” Social media platforms include platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Understanding Social Activism

According to "Social activism" (2021), social activism can be defined as “an intentional action with the goal of bringing about social change.” Social activists are individuals who feel strongly about a cause and work towards change. Social media has accelerated activist communication through real-time communication and information sharing.

Bottom-Up Decentralization

The essence of bottom-up decentralization can be described as “participation from a range of loosely connected elite actors” (Audit UK, 2019). Ultimately, this generates greater participation and inclusive engagement regarding activism. Individuals can participate in ways that are not controlled by gatekeepers and official campaign organizations.

Social Media Usage Statistics

A study by Dean (2021) shows that in 2020, there were 3.96 billion people actively using social media globally, an increase of 10.9 percent from the previous year. Furthermore, 58.11 percent of the world’s population is active on social media, with an average of 8.8 social media accounts per person (Dean, 2021). These statistics represent the widespread use of social media.

Activism on Social Media

In the United States, about “one-third of social media users, 36 percent, said that they have used sites like Facebook, Twitter, and others…to show their support for a cause, look up information about rallies or protests happening in their area, 35 percent, or encourage others to take action on issues they regard as important, 32 percent” (Auxier, 2020). Thus, an increasing number of social media users are utilizing platforms to mobilize support, raise awareness, and motivate people to create change.

Impact of Social Media on Protests

According to Poell and van Dijck (2018), studies show that major contemporary protest movements have been accompanied by intense social media activity. They argue that these platforms not only enable activist social media activity but also fundamentally shape it. For example, the Arab Spring series of anti-government protests began in 2010 and spread to five other countries. Social media played a significant role in facilitating communication among participants, where activists used platforms to organize groups, disseminate information, and raise awareness.

Twitter played a critical role in the "transnational communication on these revolutions" (Poell van Dijck, 2018, p. 546). Twitter users such as Fawaz Rashed and Iyad El-Baghdadi used the platform to coordinate and spread messages. These tactics included promoting specific hashtags and accounts, utilizing Twitter’s @ feature. Instagram and Facebook, while not mentioned specifically, also facilitated the coordination and impact of the Arab Spring by enabling users to share content and information in real-time.

Impact on Current Movements

The same can be observed in movements like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo. For instance, Black Lives Matter was initiated by a black community organizer following the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who murdered Trayvon Martin. The hashtag continues to have a widespread presence today, sparking protests and demonstrations worldwide advocating for racial justice and police brutality.

Actress Alyssa Milano encouraged victims of sexual abuse to share their stories on Twitter using the hashtag #MeToo in 2017, following accusations against Harvey Weinstein. By 2018, the hashtag was used 19 million times, establishing a community where victims of sexual assault could share stories and raise awareness (Anderson, Toor, 2018).

These movements are a testament to the power of Twitter features such as the @ feature, which helps in creating and maintaining connections among users, and hashtags, which help organize content into groups where individuals can build community and support. The “like” and “retweet” features further help in popularizing and trending content.

Theorists Poell and van Dijck suggest that social media platforms enable more bottom-up distributed forms of protest mobilization, organization, and communication (2018, p. 547). Because a growing number of social activists and protestors carry smartphones and have ongoing access to these platforms, it is easy to share content instantly, leading to physical and online protests.

To conclude, today’s culture involves people constructing horizontal networks that take shape simultaneously locally and globally on social media platforms. Social media has enabled distributed forms of bottom-up mass protests that are significant in terms of social activism.

References

Anderson, M., Toor, S. (2018, October 11). How social media users have discussed sexual harassment since MeToo went viral. Pew Research Center.

Audit UK. (2019, March 7). Top-down or bottom-up Campaigns social media and the Scottish independence referendum. Democratic Audit.

Auxier, B. (2020, July 13). Activism on social media varies by race and ethnicity, age, political party. Pew Research Center.

Burgess, J., Baym, N. (2020). Twitter: A Biography. New York University Press.

Dean, B. (2021, March). Social Network Usage Growth Statistics: How Many People Use Social Media in 2021. Blacklinko.

El-Baghdadi, I [@iyad_elbaghdadi]. (2014, October 27). I will continue to use the hashtag ArabSpring [Tweet]. Twitter.

Poell, T., van Dijck, J. (2018). “Social Media and new protest movements.” In The Sage Handbook of Social Media, pp. 546-561.

Rashed, F [@fawazrashed]. (2011, March 18). We use Facebook to schedule the protests Twitter to coordinate and YouTube to tell the world [Tweet]. Twitter.

Social Activism Public Interest Careers Amherst College. (2021). Amherst College.

Twitter. (2021). Definition of SOCIAL MEDIA. Merriam-Webster.