Social Media and it’s Impact on Social Movements
Social media is rampant in today’s society. It is used for entertainment, news, spreading ideas and many other things. Nowadays, instead of getting a newspaper, most people just refresh their Twitter feeds. Social media can prove to be extremely useful but also detrimental to users because of how easy it is to spread ideas. Gladwell, Stephen and Walton all express their different opinions of the impact of social media when it comes to politics.
Gladwell begins his article “Small Change” by giving examples such as the sit ins in Greensboro, North Carolina that eventually spread to other towns. He shows that these political movements for equality were spread by word of mouth, without any social media. He argues that political movements spread through social media have weaker ties than those that spread via word of mouth. Gladwell’s opinion on social media’s effect on political movements differs greatly from Stephen’s. In his article, “Get Up, Stand Up: Social Media Helps Black Lives Matter Fight the Power” Stephen shows that he believes that the #BlackLivesMatter movement is being empowered even more by social media. He states “Still, this movement, as diffuse and protean as it may seem, has mounted some of the most potent civil rights activism since the ’60s” (Stephen). The BLM movement started off as a hashtag by a labor organizer in California, and has now turned into a nationwide, even worldwide movement thanks to the help of social media. Stephen feels that social media will continue to help spread these ideas and help fight this political injustice.
Walton and Gladwell both point out problems with political activism in social media in their articles. In “How Advocating from the Comfort of Our Own Homes Has Impacted American Politics” Walton brings up the point that you only see one side of the political movements on social media. This can easily sway someone’s opinion on the topic and lead to hindsight bias. She also points out that whenever someone sees something on social media, they automatically assume it is true. This is far from the case. Anyone can post anything they want without any validation. This ability can cause false information to enter society. Walton also states that despite this, social media is still a great platform for social movements relates Stephen’s opinion.
I personally think that social media activism in relation to social justice and equality has its ups and downs, but is mainly a good thing. It gives people a place where their voices can be heard, and is a great platform to spread ideas from one another in a quick, precise manner. However, I do see how it is a gateway for false information to enter society but I believe the real information is always out there somewhere.
