Module 6 delves into the pivotal role of social media in shaping and propagating the narratives of social movements and protests. It explores the dynamics between social movements and the media system, emphasizing the ways in which digital platforms like Change.org and Avaaz.com facilitate and transform advocacy.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the interplay between social movements and media systems, particularly in the context of new and social media.
- Analyze and interpret the narrative styles used in social media-driven petitions and protests.
- Evaluate the impact of social media in publishing and disseminating protest narratives.
Readings
Jeffrey Juris (2012), "Reflections on #Occupy Everywhere":
This article examines the #Occupy movement, focusing on the role of social media in public space and the emerging patterns of aggregation. It offers insights into how social media platforms catalyze collective action and shape the narratives of social movements.
Gladwin, D. (2020), "Digital Storytelling Going Viral":
This piece discusses the concept of narrative empathy in digital storytelling and its potential to foster environmental action. It highlights the power of digital narratives in engaging and mobilizing audiences for social causes.
This piece discusses the concept of narrative empathy in digital storytelling and its potential to foster environmental action. It highlights the power of digital narratives in engaging and mobilizing audiences for social causes.
Jacobs & Wasserman (2018), "Siqalo and Social Media":
The article explores how social media reshapes protest narratives, using the Siqalo protest as a case study. It demonstrates the influence of digital platforms in framing and disseminating protest messages.
The article explores how social media reshapes protest narratives, using the Siqalo protest as a case study. It demonstrates the influence of digital platforms in framing and disseminating protest messages.
Neumayer & Rossi (2018), "Images of Protest in Social Media":
This research focuses on the struggle over visibility and visual narratives in social media protests. It provides a nuanced understanding of how images are used strategically in social movements and their impact on public perception.
This research focuses on the struggle over visibility and visual narratives in social media protests. It provides a nuanced understanding of how images are used strategically in social movements and their impact on public perception.
Laura Osman (2022), "Social Media Tools and the 'Freedom Convoy'":
This piece examines the critical role of social media tools in organizing and propagating the 'Freedom Convoy' protest. It offers contemporary insights into the mechanics of digital mobilization.
This piece examines the critical role of social media tools in organizing and propagating the 'Freedom Convoy' protest. It offers contemporary insights into the mechanics of digital mobilization.
Supplemental - Khazraee & Novak (2018), "Digitally Mediated Protest":
This extra reading expands on the concept of social media affordances for collective identity construction within protest movements, offering a broader view of digital activism and its implications.
There were several diverting perspectives shared in the readings for this Module. The #Occupy reading explained how social media was used as a one of many tools to grow the #OccupyWallStreet and #OccupyBoston movements, minimizing the role social media played in growing the tangible actions of the movement. In contrast to this, the CTV article on the Freedom Convoy explained how social media was the fabric that brought protesters together in Ottawa. One must question if society has changed so much in the decade since #Occupy movement took place, that social media has now replaced non-digital methods of communicating and building community. In the middle of this spectrum, I appreciated the Neumayer and Rossi paper, which shed light on the illusion of social media as a grassroots tool for sharing stories, promoting causes and inciting action by explaining how platforms such as X/Twitter use algorithms and other tools to promote information – the laying field isn’t as level for the average citizen as it might seem.
ReplyDeleteThe Gladwin article explains how LEGO was used to build empathy toward environmental causes. I am curious how much of this is still accurate in today’s cultural landscape. There are so many extreme disasters impacting humanity today, from climate issues and environmental disasters to humanitarian crises such as Palestinian genocide, and in our own backyard, the homeless crisis and opioid epidemic. I sense humanity has reached a limit for how much empathy we can have. I know for myself, personally, I want to pay attention to matters that need my attention, but I find myself drowning in sadness and sorrow over the many issues plaguing our world today. My level of emotional exhaustion makes it feel like calls for my empathy are a form of emotional manipulation – and instead of paying attention to these important causes, I find that I have to look away to protect my own mental and emotional health.
This week’s readings speak largely to the accessibility of protest, and the ways in which new digital platforms have increased the ability for voices which are largely unheard in mainstream media to join conversations regarding political and social issues that affect them and their communities. Each article highlights different aspects of this issue, with David Karpf providing an in-depth discussion of the ways in which Analytic Activism can be a beneficial implementation to digital collective action platforms when their member participation exceeds “1,000,000”. Karpf highlights that analytic activism, which “converts digital trace data (analytics) into strategic objects that organization rely upon to fashion new interventions in the political arena” (Karpf, 2018, pg. 2) increases in value “as the size of an activist organization increases”. As such, analytics are “virtually irrelevant to organization with 10,000 members” or less— this harkens to similar notions brought forward by Jacobs and Wasserman in their article, where they speak about the fact that the voiceless in mainstream media are often those who lack the resources (“the poor”) to gain that platform.
ReplyDeleteThis is a theory I have been taking the time to research during the course of COMM 555, as well. The fact that disasters, and stories of overcoming (or succumbing to) these disasters gain such traction on mainstream media creates an interesting conversion of personal travesties into a form of currency. There was an interesting study done in 2014 regarding this issue by Mariona Portell and Etienne Mullet which was published under the title “Why do people enjoy watching natural disasters and human violence on television?” The study drew forward three separate conclusions, but the most interesting (and perhaps relevant in terms of this module) for me was their most prominent. The study found that “most people like to watch frightening television programs because they find these situations to be the most entertaining once their negative consequences have been removed” (Portell & Mullet, 2014). The publication presents another interesting component to some of the underlying themes in this week’s readings, and I would recommend it to individuals curious as to why we are so drawn to these events, as well as anyone looking for a framework to critically analyze disastrous events depicted in mainstream media.
On a personal level, I sympathize with the comment left by Sarah above— I’ve found that ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, my capacity for absorbing sadness and upset through my phone screen has increased exponentially. I have had to cull my own followed accounts several times over the past years to ensure that I’m not following too far down the “doomscrolling” pit. There is only so much of me to go around, and if there are easy ways to mitigate the stress I take on from external sources I will gladly integrate them into my own life.
Sources
Portell, M., & Mullet, E. (2014). Why do people enjoy watching natural disasters and human violence on television? A reversal theory perspective. Journal of Motivation, Emotion, and Personality, 2(1), 38-49.
Jeffrey Juris (2012), "Reflections on #Occupy Everywhere":
Gladwin, D. (2020), "Digital Storytelling Going Viral":
Jacobs & Wasserman (2018), "Siqalo and Social Media":
Neumayer & Rossi (2018), "Images of Protest in Social Media":
Laura Osman (2022), "Social Media Tools and the 'Freedom Convoy'":
ReplyDelete1. #Occupy Movement
• Date: September 17, 2011
• Place: Downtown Manhattan
• Reason: Response to a call by AdBusters to occupy Wall Street
• Approach: Utilized social media for building horizontal ties, information circulation, collaboration, and networking
• Outcome: Eviction on December 10, 2011, viewed by many as transformative, leading to continued activism
2. MoveOn.org's Endorsement of Barack Obama
• Date: February 1, 2008
• Reason: Endorsed Obama for presidency
• Approach: Used digital listening routines, like online surveys, for strategic decision-making
• Outcome: Demonstrated the importance of data-driven decision-making in activism
3. Siqalo Protest in South Africa
• Place: Siqalo informal settlement, Mitchells Plain
• Reason: Lack of basic services
• Approach: Social media played a significant role in shaping public perceptions, with both positive and negative impacts, escalating into violence
• Outcome: Brought attention to residents' issues and highlighted broader social tensions
4. Blockupy Frankfurt Protest
• Date: March 18, 2015
• Reason: Against the opening of the European Central Bank
• Approach: Utilized social media, mainly Twitter, to document and counter mainstream narratives
• Outcome: Tweets mainly reinforced existing hierarchies, with institutional tweets more retweeted
5. Freedom Convoy in Ottawa
• Time: Winter 2021-2022
• Reason: Against COVID-19 public health measures
• Approach: Organized through social media, leading to disruptions and a government inquiry
• Outcome: Significant disruption in downtown Ottawa and halting of trade at several border crossings, leading to an inquiry into the role of social media and misinformation in the protests.
I have attempted to analyze these movements and compare them briefly.
All movements have utilized social media to mobilize supporters and organize protests, whether with the intention of peaceful demonstration or inciting violence. Social media has played a significant role in shaping public perception and influencing the behavior of protestors, as well as in disseminating images and messages that may encourage or discourage violence on the ground.
In the Blockupy Frankfurt protest, for example, tweets that did not depict violence received less attention, indicating a preference for sensationalized content. Despite this, these protests have not always achieved their intended goals in terms of policy change or concrete outcomes. However, they have succeeded in garnering attention and changing the way authorities and the public perceive the issues at hand.
We also observe that MoveOn.org's endorsement of Barack Obama stands out as a particularly successful movement. It utilized ongoing efforts to collect data and make decisions based on prioritized listening, showcasing the significance of data-driven decision-making in activism. This success can be attributed to its use of analytics, which allowed the organization to react quickly to changing political circumstances, make informed decisions based on member feedback, test and refine strategies, and ultimately achieve more effective activism.
Hi Gladis,
DeleteI agree with the point you made in your paragraph about the Blockupy Frankfurt protest, which describes that although a protest may not have achieved its goal, it's still effective in garnering attention, shaping public perception and at the very least, letting authorities know that their actions and legal decisions cannot be made without the people's consent. I think our perspective opposes that of the author, who proposes that violent images shift the focus from the issue at hand to the sensationalization of violence. But sometimes sharing these types of images is the only way for the people suffering to instigate legal action, or at least action within ordinary people in other countries who can pressure their international lawmakers.
The biggest example that comes to mind is Motaz Azaiza, the Palestinian photographer who feels obliged to share the most dehumanizing images for the world to take action.