Posted by The following blog will be draw upon the linking concepts in “breaking the rules for social change” and “a government’s response to a social and digital movement” previously posted in New Media, New World. Both entries discuss the use of technology and social media as a tool to drive positive social change, the first one relating to political change in Thailand, and the second one to the sexualization of women’s sportswear in the Olympic Games. These two examples of new media activism reflect the emergence of a global awareness around important social topics, such as democracy and gender equality.
Information spreads faster than ever in a world where almost everyone has access to technology and social media. New media activism is a growing phenomenon with rapidly growing movements. It has also increased the accessibility for all to organize and participate in movements, making it easier for marginalized groups to make their voices heard.
Now vs. Then
Today’s protests are vastly different from those in the past because of “the ability to use digital tools to rapidly amass large numbers of protesters with a common goal” (Tufekci, 2017: 24). Looking at the protests in Bangkok, which was discussed in my blog post, the power of new media activism is very evident. It allows for people to speak their minds against a strict regime does not respect human rights of freedom of speech. Two examples discussed was the use of the hashtag #banfoodpanda and #Whatshappeninginthailand. The latter has been used in many different countries in Asia and reflects the censorship of local media in broadcasting what is happening in the country to the rest of the world. As a result of new media, Thai people have been able to mobilize an entire generation of protesters and come together to unite under a common goal.
Similarly, #banfoodpanda was used to criticize the company for calling the protesters “terrorists”. This impact was tremendous and caused a major decline in customers within minutes. As the online protests and anger surged, the hashtag had been used over a million times on both Twitter and Instagram within just an hour. The “speed of this transformation in the access of ordinary people to digital connectivity” is what differs new media from the old, and “merit comparison with the rise of movable-type printing” (Tufekci, 2017: 31). An accurate representation of the current instabilities could be described as:
“Intertwined fragility and empowerment, of mass participation and rebellion, playing out in a political era characterized by mistrust, failures of elites, and weakened institutions of electoral democracy” (Tufekci, 2017: 11).
Although new media activism “helps recognize and legitimize human rights violations as they unfold”, I largely touched on the negative sides to this (Ristovska, 2021, p.178). Digital activism also allows for censorship and structural changes in what can be said. As discussed in the blog post, the government has not only implemented laws that make it punishable to spread so called “fake news” but have also banned several local apps that have been used for communication purposes. Governments also use the same methods as protesters, in spreading information but also controlling it. This will be discussed later on, in regard to the implications this may have on social change, and who’s voices are being heard.
My second blog post covered the topic of gender and the sexualization of women’s sportswear during the Olympics Games. In terms of lifting women’s voices, ICT has provided a huge platform for women to express themselves. A major example of this is the #MeToo movement, which had huge global implications. “Feminist activists using social media show how this newly-possible activism is currently reshaping the public sphere” reflected in this example (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018: 224). The Norwegian beach volleyball team broke the Olympic regulations to stand their ground for not wanting to wear highly revealing clothes on the court.
Technology has allowed for groundbreaking new ways to approach activism, giving voices to previously voiceless, and allowing for an entire new wave of social movements to arise. However, censorship has always existed and has in the past been a very effective tool, especially when “all mass communication was centralized and subject to government control” (Tufekci, 2017: 4). One would suggest that digital connectivity would help “change the state of affairs in which the powerful could jet-set and freely connect with one another”, but it remains a problem (Tufekci, 2017: 4).
Its effectiveness
There are many issues that have arisen in relation to new media and ICTs. Firstly, there are vast inequalities therein, but also issues relating to passivity. With a simple “attend” click, activists can become apart of an entire movement. What is worth questioning is whether this is an effective way of driving positive social change or does the following lack of engagement reduce or even worse, divert the attention. With new media activism, people do no longer need to go out on the street to demand change, which has resulted in this passive participation which can be problematic.
Firstly, social media platforms are run by algorithms. These ad-financed platforms allow for people in power to control visibility which sometimes “drowns out activist messages” (Tufekci, 2017: 29). “[…] Algorithms that shape digital tools and their multi-faceted, complex, and even sometimes contradictory impact of social movements” – is an issue that has become more visible. In references to the example from the protests in Thailand, many of the accounts were blocked, and similar hashtags to those used by protesters were used by government officials to disperse information” (Tufekci, 2017: 30). With larger accounts, the attention drifted from the movement, to enhancing the voices of politicians doing damage control.
It has therefore become important for example women to hold more positions within ICTs and penetrate that area of work. It is crucial to put emphasis on the key players of the story, and to ensure that all new media activism provides an equal and inclusive environment for all, which would in turn allow for more impactful social change.
New media allows people to challenge the status quo and structural inequalities and discrimination. It gives people the power to expose, criticize and challenge those in power under a public and international light, which are most likely the only reason why, in the case of the sportswear, the committee agreed to consider changing the attires. The publicity and rapid spread of information forces those in power to think twice before they act, to avoid a chain of reactions.
So, is new media activism as powerful as the “old-school” way of protesting? Those kinds of protests are of course, still taking place today. But what differs them is that new media provides a knowledge platform, not only to educate and influence people to join the movement, but to fight corrupt governments that have strict censorship rules. The social media world is so large and powerful, that it becomes impossible to regulate what happens.
The future
It has become evident that new media activism has had vast positive impacts on social change. Based on the topics covered in New Media, New World, it is strongly believed that we will continue to see movements unfold in this way. To ensure effective social change, it is crucial to provide an equal representation on movements across the globe.
“Technology mirrors the societies that create it, and access to (and effective use of) technologies is affected by intersecting spectrums of exclusion including gender, ethnicity, age, social class, geography, and disability” (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018: 2).
However, new media activism is a strong tool to empower people across the globe. Using the example of gender equality, ICTs can help empower marginalized people both in the developed and developing world. We can see examples of women on the rise, whom have previous been oppressed. Social media has the power of portraying the brutal realities, and for example the #MeToo movement or online campaigns such as #mydressmychoice, have led concrete outcomes that have benefitted women (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018: 3). To effectively empower women and drive positive social change, ICTs need to enable transformative agency.
This applies to all people, not just gender. Relating back to Thailand once again, people have never had this ability to freely express themselves. ICT have allowed them to get a voice in society (to an extent), and people have regained agency and been empowered to join. This was not as likely some years ago, as people were afraid of being arrested if caught on the street.
Personal Reflection:
This blogging experience has been a very knowledgeable journey. To not only develop some basic skills on how to use WordPress, but I have also truly enjoyed being able to write about these interesting topics.
The task has allowed me to deeply understand the role of ICTs in driving social change, as well as its setbacks. It has been interesting to read all the other blogs and to get such a diverse and interesting perspective on different topics in relation to media activism.
One particularly interesting aspect of blogging has been the ability to choose my own topics and add a slight touch of personal identity to them. As I am living in Bangkok, I have been apart of these protests for as long as I can remember, throughout my 11 years here. Seeing the use of new media activism unfold and the drastic pressure it has put on the government to keep the population in check, has been very interesting. Similarly, to my other blog post, I have always watched the Olympic Games, and especially this year. Women’s attire is always something that has shocked me, in the sense that women are always much more exposed than men. Overall, it has been a very intriguing experience to dive into these two topics.
Lastly, I had a wonderful group and I think that made this experience a whole lot better and special.
Sources:
O’Donnell, A. & Sweetman, C. (2018) “Introduction: Gender, development and ICTs”. Gender and Development, 26:2, 217-229.
Ristovska, S. (2021) Seeing Human Rights: Video Activism as a Proxy Profession. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Tufekci, Z. (2017) Twitter and Tear Gas – The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.