What is Digital Activism?

As technology and social media continue to become such an imperative part of our lives, it only makes sense that the way in which we show our activism towards causes we care about becomes digital. Digital activism is a form of activism that uses the internet and digital media as key platforms for mass mobilization and political action. Many individuals and organizations use online technologies for advocacy and activism associated with causes they care about. A popular form of online activism today is through “hashtag activism”. As mentioned in what we read this week on our canvas page “Especially over the last decade, there has been a notable increase in research on digital advocacy, activism, and citizen participation, particularly in the context of how they have impacted social movements.” Some examples of this are actually “hashtag activism” and include #ProtectAsianLives, #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, #LoveIsLove, and #FreeTheNipple.

I think it is quite interesting just how much technology has shaped modern activism. As mentioned in an article we read this week “How the internet transformed Climate Activism” they mention how “It’s just amazing how social media is giving activists that would normally be on the sidelines — like youth, who don’t even have the right to vote yet — the attention of celebrities and politicians” I never really thought about this until now that there are obviously many users on social media that cannot vote and won’t be able to vote for a while but because of digital activism they can understand what is going on in the world and see the impacts on social movements in their own lives.

In the back of my mind, I have always thought that there have to be people who post/ reshare certain posts simply because “they want to feel good” or be “trendy”. So in reality they are not driven to bring out the social change or work for it but they do it just to “feel good”. In the article, we read this week “THE CASE FOR DIGITAL ACTIVISM: REFUTING THE FALLACIES OF SLACKTIVISM” They touched on this and various pros and cons of digital activism. Specifically, regarding the point, I brought up they mention “An illustrative example that can be seen when Morozov (2009b) writes: “Those who participate in the effort are not driven by helping the world and have a very selfish motivation” (para.14).” Sadly, I agree this can be the case sometimes but, there is still a benefit here that they are sharing it and others will see the cause. Lastly, a major benefit that I see with digital activism that this article also touches on is visibility. With the help of digital technologies, “the ease of transmitting information and the ability to provide spaces for discussion greatly enhances the awareness of political and social issues, which can lead to social and political change (Dennis, 2019; McCafferty, 2011).