Media Technology and Social Change

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Media Technology and Social Change
In contemporary society, many people use technology to solve specific problems. There have been technological advancements in various fields like television and cell phones among others. Technology has brought about significant changes and improvements in the world. Nowadays, people perform tasks like reading and working using technology. The advancements in technology have led to the increase of knowledge among the people.
Consequently, people around the world are coming up with ways to make technology better every day. This has created a situation where sociologists are wondering how technology will adapt to the social changes that follow the continuous improvements in technology. The essay discusses the reasons media technology might be better suited to promote social change and why might it be unable to in reference to the two articles by Malcolm Gladwell and Jelani Cobb.
In his article, “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted,” Malcolm Gladwell takes a deeper dive on social change and the different ways it can be achieved. Malcolm differentiates between traditional and current activism. According to him, traditional activism means physical devotion and sacrifices while current activism is majorly based on social networks. Malcolm believes that social media cannot provide what social change requires (Gladwell 1). Malcolm makes a point in that statement. People share their ideas and thoughts through social networks. However, social change requires social ties between family and friends. In other words, one cannot achieve social change without dedicating themselves to the cause. A person has to be ready to risk everything they cherish for their purpose to be successful. Troubles will follow suit, but with support from real friends and relatives, one is likely to remain strong. The most powerful tools of survival, when faced with hostility and hate, is a strong friendship.
Jelani Cobb wrote about how black lives matter in an epic article. Before Black Lives Matter became a national movement, it started as a Facebook post by an activist in Oakland. Jelani believes that the national campaign has changed the way social activism happens through social media and the internet. However, there comes a conflict in defining how the movement has reached out to both the public and on social media handles (Cobb 3). Jelani talked with Alicia Garcia, the one who posted about black lives on Facebook. He found out that she had been invited to give a speech at Webster University but ended up canceling the talk. This is because she got death threats and threats of violence. In an attempt to air views on the importance of Black lives, she ends up canceling the talk to save her own.
Media technology can promote social change. Media technology has created a significant impact by making information accessible at any time by people. A perfect example is how Wikipedia has promoted knowledge to many people across the globe. There has also been teaching and engaging the masses through technology. For example, most institutions have adopted the e-learning program where students can take their courses online. E-learning helps the students learn at t...