Research Paper on Social Media and Activism: Exploring the Role of Networks & Societies

Introduction

Social media promotes the allotment of ideas, as well as information by creating implicit networks and societies. On the other hand, activism refers to the actions on behalf of a certain cause or action that goes beyond what is routine or conventional. Activism plays a vital role in challenges and advocating for the social issues affecting contemporary society. The topic of this research paper is social media and activism, which is appropriate to this course as it advocates various aspects such as education, race, class, and gender, among others (Cammaerts, 2015). I have chosen this topic because it offers the opportunity for extensive and further research. Through activism, politicians, and different people in society use social media to advocate, promote, impede, or intervene in social, political, environmental, or economic reforms to make changes in society. Through social media and activism, people and societies can ignite social as well as political movements and have people participate in various ways such as peaceful protests among or social media hashtags, among others. Activists often use social media platforms to rally their followers towards attaining their causes and goals.

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Social Media and Society

Different social media materials with different information are posted on various social media channels. These contents are not just merely communicated by they reflect on various social or political issues in the society and how they are implanted in world social classes both in public and private sectors as well (Gerbaudo, 2014). Also, they allow people to communicate as well as foster new relations and strengthen old ones. Social media is crucial in journalism as it acts as a source of information. China is the leading nation with the highest internet users, with about 22 million users, followed by India, the US, and Brazil. By January this year, UAE registered the highest social media penetration with 99%, followed by 89% for Taiwan, South Korea with 85%, 79% in Singapore as well as Hong Kong with 78%. With the increasing internet growth, social media is expected to broaden globally and become a central part of life for both teenagers and adults as well (Gerbaudo & Trere, 2015).

Different social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, as well as Instagram, are used to create individual accounts or groups through which members can communicate their worries and concerns about various issues affecting societies. China is leading globally with the highest internet users with 22, 500, 000 million users. By June 2019, Asia region registered the highest internet users 50.7%, Europe with 16.0%, 11.5% in Africa, 10.0% in Latin America, 7.2% in North America, the Middle East with 3.9% as well as Australia 0.6% (Glenn, 2015). Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a junior member of the House of Representatives who has over 4.8 million followers on Twitter, was sworn in as the youngest Congresswoman in the history of the US. She actively uses her twitter account to explain the importance of being authentic and true to those you represent. Various social media platforms are used to rally societies to advocate for justice and democracy in various parts such as China and Venezuela, sparking out demonstrations across the major cities in these two countries (Glenn, 2015). This implies that social media platforms can create collaboration and integration in society and rally the diverse members of society towards common problems affecting them.

There are various ways through which society and its members interact with each other. Social media channels, including Twitter and Facebook, among others, facilitate the shaping of communities' norms, beliefs, and values, among other aspects. Groups with common interests, such as the need to find against social injustices in society or various issues affecting society's way of life, can communicate through social and bring together their diverse perceptions about these issues to formulate effective solutions. Through social media, collaboration, and oneness among the society members have been established. However, the relationships fostered through social media are formed based on influence where a celebrity or a political figure can influence his/her followers towards certain social, economic, environmental, or political causes. For instance, climate change is one of the largest challenges the contemporary society is facing and various celebrities, political persons and public figures have taken it on their social media platforms to voice out their views and rally their followers towards pressuring governments to take the necessary actions to address climate change, an indication that social media can be a suitable platform to advocate for change in the society. Also, with the increasing of racial discrimination scenarios being reported in the US, diverse Africa-America individuals have taken it on social media platforms to express their dissatisfaction with such treatments. Movies such as 'Black and Blue' have been produced to address racial discrimination (Jenkins et al., 2018). They provide broader, wider, and influential approaches to address various issues affecting society. For example, during the recent Amazon forest fire, different people across the world took on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to voice out their concerns over the impacts that the forest fire would have on the globe and call for different governments and organizations to put off the fire. This is an indication that social media is an influential asset that can be used to change society.

Activism and Social Media

Social media influence in contemporary activism has tremendously increased. In 2018, the issue of #BlackLivesMatter sparked mixed reactions and discussions among the members of the society regarding the efficacy and practicality of using social media for political as well as social activism. According to the survey by Pew Research, most of the Americans think that social media platforms have accomplished various political objectives such as making politicians aware of specific issues with 69% of the American agreeing while 67% advocating that these platforms can successfully create continued movements for social transformation (Lim & Golan, 2011). Specific users of social media, for instance, the Hispanic view these social media platforms as a key instrument for their political engagement. Public as general communicates mixed perceptions regarding the possible wider influence these platforms have on political dialogue as well as the nature of political activism. About 64 percent of Americans agree that the phrase 'social media convey the interest of the underrepresented groups' describes the social media activism. Different members of the society have mixed assessments about the benefits as well as costs of activism. Social media is now a crucial platform for various social, economic, political, and environmental activists to communicate their views and perceptions about various issues affecting society.

As of October 2019, the US has been named the most 'twitter-active' country with about 48.35 million active twitter users, followed by Japan with 35.65 and UK with 13.9 million users accordingly. Countries such as Venezuela are actively using social media platforms to advocate for change in the country. The recent protests in Chile and Hong Kong are a clear indication that social media holds a vital position in activism (Lim, 2013). For instance, by September this year, tens of thousands of demonstrators took on social media platforms advocating for the end of prosecutions tied to mass protests in this country. This social media protest leads to real protests in the streets of Moscow with activists from diverse political movements assembling in Moscow despite the rally being sanctioned. These protests and online supporters included liberals, libertarians, students and leftwingers among others whose message advocated for 'freedom for the students, liberty to the universities' and 'you have no sufficient prisons to keep to everyone against this government' among others which forced the Russian prosecutors to open broad criminal case against the protestors (Seargeant & Tagg, 2014). Ever since then, thousands of activists have used social media to voice their concerns about the injustice scenarios. There exists a broad correspondence linking social media and protests. For instance, #BlackLivesMatter is a social media activism that began in 2013. The hashtag evolved after the George Zimmerman shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin to death. Over the years, the movement has grown to be a typical example of contemporary protests as well as political engagement on social media platforms. Another social media campaign that has attracted the attention of diverse members of the society is the #MeToo campaign, which provides sexual assault awareness in the society through social media platforms with various campaigns geared by these campaigns taking place in various cities across America. These hashtags have entirely changed the discourse regarding racism as well as sexual assault with massive attention and support through social media sites. Pew reports that hashtag has been used in more than 30 million times on Twitter, an approximation of 17, 002 occasions daily. The organization reported that the discourse revolving around hashtag mostly talks about issues such as law enforcement, race as well as violence, and its application sparks real-world occurrences (Swann, 2014).

Importance of Social Media

Social media is a major activism category that uses media as well as communication technologies for either social or political movements. In most cases, it is used by grassroots activists as well as anarchists to communicate their censored stories, views, and beliefs. Based on survey Pew Research, Americans are the leading users of social media. People across the world use social media for different reasons, such as for new, information as well as political debates, among others. Social media allows isolated and marginalized people to voice their grievances and concerns. Entire societies have created as well as grown-up collectively over social media, which has gradually strengthened various activist movements. Social media channels permit the community to systematize events, as well as a commune on a platform which is reachable to the majority of people, have email addresses, internet connectable device (Velasquez & LaRose, 2015). Such a vastly increased probable addressees' magnitude is ultimately improving the possible impact various movements can have on diverse procedures, politics as well as people's everyday life. For instance, the hashtag movement, including #MeToo, founded by activist Tarana Burke intensified online, has long-term impacts (Valenzuela, 2013). According to RAINN (The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network), social media has led to a 21% rise in calls for anti-sexual helplines since the Harvey Weinstein charges and #MeToo blasted, illustrating that social media matters a lot as social media conversations can persuade people to collectively work together towards social issues affecting the society (Velasquez & LaRose, 2015). Also, the 2014 #WeNeedDiverseBooks social media campaign launched by NGO has now grown into an organization that provides internship funding, mentorships, rewards for writers, and booksellers. Through the social media app, 'OurStory,' people with vetted diverse books across the globe have connected. Through social media, young people have become active activists and created change in societies. According to researchers, social media has helped people partake in movements with social aspects that are personal to them. Social media continues to be a convincing channel through which a 'digit...