In light of the events happening in Egypt and amidst the ever-growing popularity of social networking sites like Facebook, I find this article in the New Yorker to be very relevant: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=1
Gladwell begins with a vivid account of the Greensboro sit-ins of 1960; the stir it caused and the way in which it sparked involvement at the grass roots. He juxtaposes this with the current trend of activism via social networking sites. Ultimately, Gladwell claims that we are “forgetting what activism is” because we have a false sense of participation.
I find myself, for the most part, agreeing. Gladwell claims that activism is losing its edge in the age of advanced communication technology because it makes activism seem easy. All you have to do is make a few mouse clicks. It’s a kind of distancing, if you will, from real activism–the kind Gladwell explains with the Greensboro sit-ins, where people organized and agitated face to face with an ever-present threat of violence. Those sit-ins were a direct challenge to “entrenched norms and practices”. Though he believes sites like Facebook to be extremely effective when it comes to generating ideas and passing along information, he calls into question whether or not people can truly organize as a strong unit with goals to effect change via social networking sites. I should also note that Gladwell makes the presupposition that one must fight for peace. This is a discussion we recently had in class. To fight for peace, according to Gladwell, means people will cause tension and, if need be, remain steadfast when violence is a result.
One might say that the recent demonstrations in Egypt—which ultimately lead to Mubarak’s resignation in a relatively peaceful manner—had their beginnings on the Internet. However, this is not to say that the success of the Egyptian people should be awarded to social networking sites. Rather it should be awarded to the people themselves: for their resolve, passion and unity above all, which could then fuel the organization. Those are qualities that must preexist and those are the ingredients for grassroots activism. The anger and drive for change were already in the people of Egypt. It was not a fever that caught on over Facebook. The one goal in mind—oust Mubarak—could have easily been realized without the Internet.
I find the New Yorker article referenced here to be very interesting and a sentiment that has been bouncing around the Internet for some time, now. Evgeny Morozov, an individual referenced within the article itself has been arguing that society is now burdened with increased “slacktivism,” or activism that isn’t really activism at all. Essentially, Morozov argues that those who join activist groups on the Internet instead of actually taking to the streets are slackers, and not real activists at all. The problem that has been plaguing the United States and countries across the world has indeed been this misdirection of credit where credit is due. I agree, Facebook and Twitter are excellent resources for communicating mass ideas, arranging events, and getting the word out. However, Facebook and Twitter are not strong because they are not individual people, rather, they are members of the cyber world and can do very little beyond that when it comes to actively changing the real world.
“Iran’s Propaganda hits the Spinternet”
http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/12/29/morozov.dicatorships.internet/index.html
“The Brave New World of Slacktivism”
http://neteffect.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/05/19/the_brave_new_world_of_slacktivism
I also think that Gladwell has a very valid point in his article. I cannot even picture how many ‘activist’ groups I have been invited to on facebook claiming that they are here to make a ‘real’ change and difference. While certainly, I have to qualms with people protesting or organizing demonstrations through social network sites (because I think there is really a positive aspect to this) however, activists must understand that the work for activism and protesting something you truly believe in cannot end on the internet. Which is why so many kudos go out to the protesters in Egypt, who did a large amount of organization online, but then took the action to the streets to achieve the goals they had been writing about.