Media Activism
I am currently watching Mrs. America about female organizing around the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and they were calling landlines and mailing letters to their networks' network. Between that show and the current events this week, I have started to think about the evolution of activism.
Last week, we spent a lot of time exploring digital natives. This week, current events in our country sparked many avenues of activism in response to the murder of George Floyd. Alongside with our theme of online communities this week and digital natives last week, I did some research this week on Media Activism. First, check out this quick overview on the history of activism and how we got to media activism. My timeline as well as most people I know has been filled with instances of activism this week. #BlacksLivesMatter and #MeToo reinvigorated and centered media activism in new ways. According to the Pew Research Center, #BlackLivesMatter had been used over 30 million times as of May 2018; they also found that 64% of people felt online platforms helped give voice to underrepresented groups. 71% also said they think media activism makes people feel like they are making a difference when they really aren't. McCabe and Harris (2020) stated, "For its proponents, social media is a force for change, which can challenge entrenched hierarchies, redistribute power, democratize information, support mass mobilization and contribute to the building of global movements." Media activism can be seen as a new wave of peaceful protesting, especially for digital natives who have grown up with these platforms and feel comfortable engaging in emotional vulnerability and difficult conversations in Web 2.0 based platforms. Media activism is often a way that digital natives are finding online communities; media based activism also calls upon enormous networks to organize effectively. I'd love to hear folks thoughts on media activism in the comments (especially in regards to digital natives and communities/networks!).
Want to explore more? Check out Cammaerts (2015) chapter on social media and activism.
Sources Cited/Resources:
McCabe, A. & Harris, K. (2020). Theorizing social media and activism: where is community development? Community Development Journal.
This is a great topic to consider. Today, my timeline on Instagram is filled with black boxes for #blackouttuesday. I couldn't help but notice some of those posting these had been radio silent and it almost becomes a trendy fad than something that actually moves the needle. I've seen different sides posting that the black box "doesn't do anything for me" and others that say they feel supported by their friends when they saw it.
ReplyDeleteI think that in a case like #blackouttuesday, you get a lot of participation that makes the poster feel accomplished, even if they do not look inward on themselves in this time to educate and listen to black voices. For me, I know throwing a couple of tweets in support of #BLM isn't enough so I am taking my time learning and letting those that have done the research lead and spreading some of their works.
When I think of online activism, I think it is a great tool to get people to care or make them aware of an issue. Putting horrific photos and disturbing facts in someone's face again and again is going to result in at least a stance on the issue. Our planet, for example. I think it is easy to use a plastic straw and not think anything of it. But when you see photos of beach cleanups and pounds of plastic in our oceans, maybe someone somewhere will change their actions. The beach clean-up had the more noticeable effect, but if enough people decide to change their habits, that is real change.
Hi. I had to stake last week off because of the stress social media was causing me with all of the posts and protests. While I was resting, I binged all of Mrs. America. It was such an interesting series, and I loved the tensions they brought about the ERA. As a Black person, Shirley Chishlom episode was important because it shows how the dynamics of power worked against her (ie. even though the white women ERA supporters wanted to use her as a symbol rather than the an answer to the injustice). Online activism is helpful, but I think it's easy for moments to get co-opted as performative stances like # blackouttuesday did.
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