Digital Activism: What a difference a day can make

I’ve never partaken in activism in an official sense. It’s not that I don’t care for causes, as I certainly form strong opinions on the state of the world, it’s just that I choose to voice those opinions in a more private sense. I prefer to engage in conversation with friends and family and it’s fair to say that I don’t make my opinions or support for causes known on a wider public scale, so the concept of involving myself in public campaigning or protesting has never been an option.

The shift towards digital activism provides a more passive opportunity to become involved in causes. Facebook groups and sites like getup.org.au make it easier to be involved. For somebody like me who holds strong opinions, but has never had interest in voicing those opinions in a public forum, this form of activism fits well. So why is it, that I’m not drawn to join in?

I definitely believe that the digital realm allows causes to gain greater support. Social networking and the ease with which causes can be supported will ensure that the right cause can go ‘viral’ and touch many more people than traditional means of activism could. More people considering the stance of a worthy cause can only be a good thing, can’t it? Or is it a further disconnection from real human contact, as society plunges further into a world where digital expression is chosen over genuine personal interaction? Sitting on the fence a little bit there aren’t I?

I suppose that sums up my thoughts on digital activism. I’m a fence sitter. My view is that digital activism is useful for involving more people and raising awareness of issues, but I question the effectiveness of the manner in which the activism takes place, and the potential for it to achieve an end goal. Will Facebook groups and websites purporting culture jamming, really make the people who make decisions on issues stand up and take notice? Will a campaign driven by a website or blog really stop large corporations producing products in parts of the world where working conditions are poor? No, but the website campaign certainly has the ability to make more people aware that this practice happens. From a political standpoint, is activism against governments using technology that those same governments can tap into and control, really going to achieve much? Internet censorship placed on people by repressive governments across the world provides a fairly good answer to this question.

An article by Sivitanides & Shah (2011) presents three perspectives on the value of digital activism. The perspectives are optimists, pessimists and persistents. The more I think about digital activism as I write this, the more I find myself fitting into the persistents group. Digital tools make the ability to spread a message more effective and aide the organization of activism. But in order for digital activism to be successful in achieving the desired result, it must, at some point, shift offline.

EPILOGUE

What a difference a day makes. I wrote the above blog post yesterday questioning some of the merit of digital activism. This morning I have risen to the news that an American man has opened fire on an elementary school killing over 20 people, many of them young children. I’m absolutely horrified and feel compelled to add to my original post.

The first thing I did this morning on hearing the tragic news was post a tweet expressing my sadness. The site was flooded with similar messages of sympathy and calls for American President Barack Obama to severely tighten U.S gun laws. After logging out of Twitter I opened Facebook to find my news feed flooded with messages questioning the madness of this horrific crime and the madness of American gun laws. I am witnessing in real time the power that social networking and digital activism has in pulling together groups of people to fight for a cause. This is a cause I will be joining. 

Here I am, an Australian man jumping aboard a cause to have guns outlawed in a country I do not reside in. I am challenging the constitutional right of American citizens to bear arms. Tens of millions across the globe will do the same thing. My perspective on digital activism has gone from ‘persistent’ to ‘optimist’ in a day. 

REFERENCES

Adbusters 2012, Adbusters Media Foundation, Vancouver, Canada, viewed December 12 2012, <www.adbusters.org>.

Dery, M 2012, Shovelware, viewed December 12 2012, <http://markdery.com/>.

GetUp! 2012, GetUp!, Sydney, Australia, viewed December 12 2012, <www.getup.org.au>.

Gross, D 2012, Sniggle.net, viewed December 12 2012, <www.sniggle.net>

MacKinnon, J 2001, The Shoe They Wouldn’t Sell, Adbusters Magazine, Vancouver, Canada, viewed December 13 2012, <http://www.contagiousmedia.org/press/nike/nike-adbusters.htm>.

Sivitanides, M & Shah V 2011, ‘The Era of Digital Activism’, Education Special Interest Group of the AITP, CONISAR Proceedings, vol. 4, pp. 1-8.