Journal 2: Malcom Gladwell Shift Of Social Activism

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Journal 2
Malcom Gladwell published an article detailing her discontentment in the shift of social activism. She gives reasons why she thinks it cannot bear fruit unless in few instances and on a small scale. Gladwell cites the sit-in episodes of the college students in Greensboro which led to civil rights movement. She refers to social media activism as lazy and cannot effect big change owing to its approach. On the other hand, Mirani criticizes Gladwell’s perspective of the online activism which has become common in the recent past. Mirani cites the Kashmir case highlighting how online activism led to measurable results despite two decades of failed demonstrations which failed to gain the necessary traction to bring change.
In the information age, social change depends solely on how you channel information and the likely impact it will have. The battleground has shifted from the outdated activism tactics used in the sixties to information powered channels of the new age. I am not doubting the efficacy of the traditional ways of activism but times change. Just like in the ancient times people warred to fight for change then came the demonstrations and activism, today the power comes with information and social media seems to be effective at this. Gladwell perception to social media activism as weak and for lazy people and does not bring any substantial impact for change is misguided. According to CITATION Gla10 \l 1033 (Gladwell), the structural organization of online activism affects its efficacy though she does not provide convincing reasons why online activism may fail.
Social media activism can also adapt and unify their course of action to deliver on their mission. Thus, whether decentralized or hierarchically organized, it is not a valid reason for downplaying the efficacy of social networking as a tool for activism. CITATION Mir10 \l 1033 (Mirani) points out that activism extends to changing the minds of people, to making populations aware of what their governments are doing in their name, to influencing opinion across the world, then the revolution will be indeed be tweeted.
The arguments are convincing because the author provide sufficient proof to back their claims. There has been changes that have come due to social media activism and whether you vilify the method, it is undeniable that it actually works. Social media is a new tool and it has grown to unprecedented proportions and it seems to have granted the people power to voice their issues and call for action. It is a tool that transcends physical boundaries and gives th...