#4 (wk 6) Activism online: a platform for change.
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Digital Citizenship and the online activistâŚ
âInformation technologies have become indispensable to reformers, revolutionaries, and contemporary democracy movements. They serve as venues for the shared expression of dissent, dissemination of information, and collective action.â (Youmans & York  2012)
Digital citizenship refers to how we engage with other members of society online; particularly the ways in which we can be involved in political processes and issues which affect our social communities.
By re-posting, commenting or even just âlikingâ social media posts we are on some level engaging with others; sharing information, being inspired or seeking to inspire.Â
Whilst social media platforms have made it easier for activists and social justice advocates to raise awareness on issues and to develop protest campaigns, it is also important to remember that the same technology is available to everyone â reformers, revolutionaries and authoritarian regimesâ (Youmans & York 2012 p.315). Â
Does Activism and Advocacy have to involve confrontation?
âThe times they are a-changing.â - Bob Dylan
There have been many life-changing protest marches and acts of activism in our history, online activism is in many ways less confrontational than taking to the streets. Â However, the battle is same although online activist do not necessarily find themselves in physically threatening situations, learning to control and confront dominant views and power structures on social media remains a crucial part of activism.
Activism is about power and opposition and whilst social media platforms provide a cost effective avenue for reaching the masses, the opposition is often well prepared (Community Tool Box 2015).Â
Advocacy and activism do not always involve conflict or confrontation, it is about instigating change and sometimes that change is a slow journey to shift peopleâs attitudes and mindsets. For consumer organisations change can take effect as simply as having people refuse to buy their products.
Does advocating online actually inform change?
âSub-activism has to be recognised as an important dimension of democracy grounded in individualsâŚâ (Bakardjieva 2009 p.103)
Social Justice advocates will tell you that the results of campaigning on social media are often a mile wide and only an inch deep. In other words, social media is great for spreading awareness but this doesnât always result in action.
It seems that the participatory nature of the internet is what drives citizens to become involved rather than the issues at heart (Christensen, 2012) and in online activism there is a huge gap between drawing peopleâs attention to issues and generating action.
Organisations such as Change.org (2016) can be important for activists, providing information, support from like-minded people and finding allies and the people-power to boost campaigns.
References AZ Quotes 2014, Bob Dylan quotes political, viewed 12 December 2015, <http://www.azquotes.com/quote/797897>.
Bakardjieva, M 2009, âSubactivism: Lifeworld and Politics in the Age of the Internetâ, Information Society, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 91-104.
Christensen, H 2012, Simply Slacktivism?, ResearchGate: Journal of Democracy, viewed 30 December <http://www.reasearcgate.net/profile/Henrik_Christensen4/publication/261638212_Simply_slacktivism_Internet_participation_in_finland/links/00b7d534e7b9cc0d6f000000.pdf>
Community Tool Box 2015, âSection 1. Overview: Getting an Advocacy Campaign Off the Groundâ, cbt.ku.edu, viewed 12 Dec 2015 <http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/advocacy/advocacy-principles/overview/main>
Youmans, W, & York, J 2012, 'Social Media and the Activist Toolkit: User Agreements, Corporate Interests, and the Information Infrastructure of Modern Social Movementsâ, Journal Of Communication, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 315-329.
Image SourceÂ
âbirds on wire picture holderâ <gadgetsandgear.com>Â licensed under creative commonsÂ
I think that huge gap between drawing peopleâs attention to issues and generating action is partly due to the fact that people think their one signature, or share canât do much to create change, and that is where I think people underestimate the power of creating awareness. Even if just one more person shares the message, it creates a domino effect.Â

















