Role of Social Media in furthering Social and Political movements

Social networking sites, also known as social media, has become part of our everyday lives and its shapes the way we go about our daily routines. This phenomenon of web 2.0 was initiated back in the late 1990s and became popular around early 2000s. Social networking sites allow users to create a profile and interact with friends and family around the world at any given time. However, the evolution of social media did not just stop there, the networking sites kept changing for the past decade, making it possible for any user to have access to a lot of things, from posting pictures/videos to online shopping. Social media have provided many features to its users just a click away from it. The constant advancement of social media raised a bit of concern, as people pointed out that social media have taken away physical social interaction with many friends and family. Users tend to stick to their favourite social media platform to connect and talk to their peers. Although, social networking sites could affect social relationships, nevertheless, it is known for boosting social movements around the globe.

Social movement is an organized event by large group of people trying to achieve a social or political goal (Rane & Salem, 2012). Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are among the top social media platforms that boost and positively impact social movements. For instance, the Arab uprising protests or demonstrations against the government were organized on social media, this raised awareness both locally and globally as they were posting every single detail of the protest streets on social media. There are many countless social movements that social media has helped in spreading and raising awareness, like human rights, animal rights, climate movement, feminist movement, Black Lives Matter, MeToo and so on. Social media became an effective tool of web 2.0 platform to mobilize and motivate people to participate in social movements (Hwang & Kim, 2015). People that have higher tendency or frequency of using social media are mostly participant of many social movements (Hwang & Kim, 2015). The relationship between social media usage and social movement participation improves and strengthen network between people with shared values, norms, and understanding (Hwang & Kim, 2015). Social movement helps build strong relationship and connection between people with shared interest, ideas, and values.

Friendship or relationship are easily made across various social media platforms around the world, the same shared interest forms easy yet strong connection between people. Students or young adults share several interests with other fellow students on social media, social media activism is quite relevant among many student activists’ groups (Velasquez & LaRose, 2015). A research finding showed that many student activists’ groups are promoted by political efficacy through the successful experiences of using social media activism (Velasquez & LaRose, 2015). The main factor that motivated the 2010s Arab spring was political instability within many Arab countries, social media helped tackle that issue in the uprising (Wolfsfed, Segev & Sheafer, 2013). In places with little access to internet and where government censors or controls social media or any other form of media, it is quite challenging for people to exploit such technologies (Wolfsfed, Segev & Sheafer, 2013). The motivation of citizens to participate in social or political movement is affected by the ability of citizens to gain access to social media from the nature of the political environment (Wolfsfed, Segev & Sheafer, 2013). Through various social networking sites, western mainstream news media organize and share their news report from tech-savvy protests on the new media platforms (Wolfsfed, Segev & Sheafer, 2013).

Political movement

Back in 2009, approximately about 60 million internet users were from the Middle East and by 2015, it increased to 100 million internet users. Social media played an important role on the Arab revolution, which overthrew Ben Ali of Tunisia and Mubarak of Egypt from power (Rena & Salem, 2012). Its role was part of transferring information between protesters, assisting and advising non-violent tactics, tips on medical treatment, and overcoming internet restriction (Rena & Salem, 2012). In Egypt and Tunisia, social media was used to spread tactical and practical information between the Egyptian and Tunisian activists on how to conduct a safe demonstration and home-made tear gas masks (Rena & Salem, 2012). The government of both countries blocked access to social media and any other form of new media, however, social media became more relevant as more online activists used it to transfer information to help others to overcome the blockage of internet (Rena & Salem, 2012). However, unlike the success of social media usage in Egypt and Tunisia revolutions, in Libya, many did not have access to the internet, therefore, little access to social media platforms. Nevertheless, some Libyans protesters tweeted #Feb17 calling for a nationwide protest on that date through Twitter (Rena & Salem, 2012). The tweet became popular and was retweeted many times, it got the attention of mainstream news media. The use of social media during the Arab uprisings is strongly connected with the critical role of direct contact and identification between social movement in the process of spreading information (Rena & Salem, 2012).

The interactions between activists’ collective action spaces are shaped by the institution of social media platforms (Youmans & York, 2012).

In Guatemala, young educated male adults used Facebook to express their anger and frustration towards the government and little did they know it would prove to be a powerful force, gathering and uniting many Guatemalans to protest on streets through a networked social movement (Harlow, 2012). Without the help of social networking sites, tens of thousands of Guatemalans crowd would not have been able to gather and mobilize a social or political movement. The ‘comment’ feature of social media platforms is used in a way to motivate others to join the movement and participate both online and offline (Harlow, 2012). High frequent users of social media are excessively involved in online movement, as they are well networked with many ‘friends’ or ‘followers’ and have been using the platform for longer time (Harlow, 2012). Interaction between users help strengthen bond or ties within or among people participating in movement, this creates trust and builds a community identity which boost movement’s success (Harlow, 2012). Users became citizen journalists, covering their participation in the protests and uploading it on social media where it is later used on news coverage (Harlow, 2012). Therefore, online citizen journalists contribute to the transition of online movement to offline action (Harlow, 2012). Social media platform like Facebook motivated offline protests such as pro-justice/anti-violence movement today (Harlow, 2012).

Social Movement

One of the biggest social movement of today is part of the African American community, ‘Black Lives Matter (BLM)’, was initiated back in 2013 on Facebook when the final verdict of Trayvon Martin murder was released (Ince, Rojas & Davis, 2017). This acquittal was a defining moment for U.S. race relations, particularly considering the months of demonstrations and protests in response to the murder of Martin in the winter of 2012, the subsequent lag in the decision of police officers to prosecute Zimmerman, and the criminalization of Martin within the media (Ince, Rojas & Davis, 2017). Alicia Garza one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter posted a message for the black community on Facebook, “Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter. Black lives matter”, and this was just the beginning of the social movement (Ince, Rojas & Davis, 2017). The framing of Black Lives Matter movement invites people to understand the number of issues that affect African Americans from racial inequality to police violence to healthcare (Ince, Rojas & Davis, 2017). Average citizen can connect and interact with a movement on social media’s forum (Ince, Rojas & Davis, 2017). The death of Michael Brown sparked Black Lives Matter movement and the use of social media to debate role of policing and state of race relation in the United States (Carney, 2016). In May 2020, George Floyd, another black American victim to police brutality was killed. His last breath was captured when killed in police custody and posted on social media. This spared a global protest police brutality and in support of Black Lives Matter movement all over the world and on all social media platforms. According to Pew Research Centre, 218,000 tweets of #BlackLivesMatter was tweeted just one day after Floyd’s death and about 4 million times per day from 28 May to 7 June (Anderson, Barthel & Vogels, 2020). The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter used across various social networking sites serves as a crucial tool in spreading awareness and mobilizing for social change (Carney, 2016). Protests are happening all over the world for one cause, said a Twitter post, social media gives access to youth of colour around the world to interact in transnational discussions about state-sanctioned violence and oppressive systems (Carney, 2016).

#BlackLivesMatter hashtag used by users on social media is in connection to its moral, political, and social implications (Yang, 2016). Users on social networking sites uses personal stories to motivate and mobilize social movements or social change (Yang, 2016). The successful mobilization of recent movements is an emerging trend that restricts the communication dynamics of social protest through extensive use of digital social media by social movement actors (Tan et al., 2013). Offline political participation has a direct effect with the use of social media while online and offline political participation mediated has indirect effect through political expression (Gil de Zuniga, Molyneux & Zheng, 2014). Political participation is linked to the seeking of information, news on social media and the use of internet, therefore, politically expressing views and opinions on web 2.0 (Gil de Zuniga, Molyneux & Zheng, 2014). People generate their own content on social media to mobilize a social or political movement (Gil de Zuniga, Molyneux & Zheng, 2014). Social media enables users to express, compose, and spread messages or information among each other, therefore, this easily helps when motivating and mobilizing social movements. Social interaction on social media increases the size of the total network, which boost online social movement (Sutcliffe, Binder & Dunbar, 2018). The use of social media increases size of network and generates emotional closeness among people with the quality of communication, although, the limiting factor could be the lack of face-to-face, nevertheless, users build strong, emotional relationships through shared intertest, values, and ideas (Pollet, Roberts & Dunbar, 2011). Movement that emerges through communication on social media largely succeeded in rejecting clear spokespeople or leadership and instead garnered structure from the identity created (Kidd & McIntosh, 2016).

The evolution of web 2.0 and the rise of social networking sites have brought people closer around the globe by interacting, connecting, and sharing similar interest, values, or ideas with one another. Although social networking sites might affect social relationships, as users are not physically engaging with their friends and family, and instead use social media to connect with them. However, it is proven that users on social media connect and build strong relationships with shared intertest in a social or political change. Social media platforms helped the Arab revolution, Guatemala protest, Black Lives Matter movement, and many more social movements around the world. This has positively impacted and boosted several social movements around the world, therefore, without the help of web 2.0 and mostly social networking sites, many social movements would not have succeeded today.

References

Anderson, M., Barthel, M., & Vogels, A.E. (2020). #BlackLivesMatter surges on Twitter after George Floyd’s death. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/10/blacklivesmatter-surges-on-twitter-after-george-floyds-death/.

Carney, N. (2016). All Lives Matter, but so Does Race: Black Lives Matter and the Evolving Role of Social Media. Humanity & Society, 40(2), 180–199. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160597616643868.

Gil de Zúñiga, H., Molyneux, L. & Zheng, P. (2014). Social Media, Political Expression, and Political Participation: Panel Analysis of Lagged and Concurrent Relationships. Journal of Communication, 64: 612-634. https://doi-org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/10.1111/jcom.12103.

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Hwang, H., & Kim, K. (2015). Social media as a tool for social movements: the effect of social media use and social capital on intention to participate in social movements. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(5), 478-488. http://dx.doi.org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/10.1111/ijcs.12221

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