Social Media’s Role in Political Movements
The prevalence of social media today means people from all around the world can communicate instantly. It also means people can learn about news as it is happening. So what does this mean in the context of political movements?
With citizen journalists and onlookers connected by social media, political movements have taken on a new form with great potential but also limitations.
Citizens Journalists and Onlookers
A major benefit that cell phones provide is the ability for citizens to document what is truly happening around them. People no longer have to rely on what news stations and corporations tell them about an event when they can hear it from the people directly involved.
This rise of “citizen journalism” gives power to groups who may have been silenced or misrepresented previously. For example, police brutality towards minorities in the US has been increasingly documented by cell phones and spread by social media. Yarimar Bonilla and Jonathan Rosa’s paper about the killing of Michael Brown in 2014 states, “by the end of the month, ‘#Ferguson’ had appeared more than eight million times on the Twitter platform” (Bonilla & Rosa). Cell phones now make it difficult for those in power to hide wrongdoings they may have gotten away with before.
Citizen journalism also allows events to become international news. The History Channel’s video, Here's How the Arab Spring Started and How It Affected the World, says, “[Mohamed Bouazizi’s] death sparked a Tunisian revolution in which protesters armed themselves not only with signs but with cell phones, allowing the protest to spread at social media speed” (History). These initial protests in Tunisia led to revolutions in other Middle Eastern and North African countries. Meanwhile, people in other areas were able to watch this “Arab Spring” unfold before their eyes.
Can Social Media Lead Revolutions?
While social media is prime for spreading information, real revolution requires more. Political movements need action beyond the screen to enact lasting change.
Axel Bruns, Tim Highfield, and Jean Burgess’ paper The Arab Spring and Social Media Audiences: English and Arabic Twitter Users and Their Networks states, “Although during the first month, and especially around the key days of regime change, a significant number of non-Arabic-speaking users participate, their interest dissipates as the situation moves from outright revolution to a more long-term reshaping of the political system” (Bruns et al.) Although people across the globe became invested in the Arab Spring situation, actually changing the government required citizens of the country to put in the work.
In short, social media can spark and fan the flames of revolution, but it cannot achieve full systemic change by itself. Political and social movements will likely always require real world action to make a difference. Social media can expose people to important topics and bring them like-minded individuals together to start. But after that, revolution lies in the hands of those who choose to grab it.
