The author of this weeks reading Evgeny Morozov has long attempted to dismiss the power of social media technologies upon political activism. In an earlier article titled ‘Iran: Downside to the Twitter revolution’ he labelled the practice of online activism as ‘slacktivism’; stating that social media platforms such as Twitter are nowhere near as influential as we have come to believe and instead have fuelled a generation of “feel-good but useless internet activists” (Morozov, 2009, p13).
Although Morozov has some creditable arguments, I believe that he has been way too quick in denouncing the use of Twitter and Facebook as revolutionary tools. For example if the use of Twitter for political activism is what Morozov (2009) deems ‘use-less’, then I find it ironic that the Iranian government felt such immense political pressure from dissident voices within the online sphere that they attempted to block access to social media sites within the country during the Iranian revolution.
In addition to this example, my position is supported by the current research from Howard (2011) in the paper “Opening Closed Regimes: What was the role of social media during the Arab Spring?” which after the critical analysis of over 3 million tweets from mid 2010 to 2011 found that social media played a critical and central role in shaping political debates in the Arab Spring.
In conclusion this weeks reading, is just yet another example of how social media is changing the way we live. As my prior blogs have demonstrated not only has social media changed the way we communicate, entertain, learn, purchase and participate but also it has changed the way we engage in politics. Although I recognise that social media did not cause the political upheaval during the Arab Spring, I do believe that it has played a critical role in allowing the average citizen to become more educated, interested in and involved with politics.
References:
Morozov, E (2009) ‘Iran: Downside to the ‘Twitter revolution’, Dissent, Vol.56, No.4, pp.10-14.
Corryn this is a great blog! I agree with every point you made! As for Morozov suggesting that online activism is “slacktivism,” and dismissing the power of social media technologies. I completely disagree, and so do many others. In fact in a recent interview, President Barak Obama compared social networking to universal liberties such as freedom of speech (Radwan, 2011). Radwan goes as far to say that “the Egyptian revolution has validated the powerful role of social media in the political arena” (2011, p 2). I would suggest reading Radwan’s article, “Egypt’s Facebook Revolution,” for a further discussion on how social media facilitated the Egyptian Revolt.
ReplyDeleteVery nice post Corryn. I agree with you and Gabby, Morozov probably has dial-up internet. Whether he wants to believe it or not the internet is a powerful tool. Even in China, where social networking sites such as Facebook are banned, or filtered heavily, there is still a strong online presence, known as 'weibos'. I believe most people have heard about the toddler incident in China that has forced a nation to be shamed for the actions of a few... well MOROZOV, wanna know how everyone found out... social networking. Activists found out and social networking has now caused an entire country to take a good look at themselves...that is a form of activism that has got results, unfortunately at the price of a toddlers life. Social networking serves a powerful role and I do not want to discredit Morozov arguments because he places some good points in his work but its a fight that he looks like he might lose as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys. I totally agree with you both! Check out this infographic released by mashable today;
ReplyDeletehttp://mashable.com/2011/10/21/facebook-infographic/
Barack Obama has over 23 Million facebook fans!?
I was a little bit disappointed in the reading this week. I don't think Morozov really captured the importance and potential of social media and its role in news affairs.
ReplyDeleteFergus is right, social networking gets results!Dijck (2010) talks about taste communities forming through SNS and other websites. People come together to share news affairs and form taste communities dedicated to exploiting the wrong doings of the world.
Had of Morozov experienced the 2 recent activist protests, his ideology on the role social networks play, might have changed...substantially.
ReplyDeleteWhen i blogged on this topic, i found the london riots to be a great example of activism being organised by social media. It was discussed in class the encryption-like technology of BlackBerry Messenger played an immense role in the riots. This social medium facilitated communication channels between the rioters.