Digital Media and Protest - Literature review Example

Digital Media and Protest Student Name Date Institution Name Digital Media and Protest Communication incorporates all the formal and informal means by which information flows across a network of different users. In the recent times, aspects of communication using digital means have gone beyond the mere functions of disseminating or receiving of messages. Digital media channels and the internet are increasingly being exploited as channels of advocacy by various organizations in providing personalized public engagement (Howard & Hussain, 2011). The internet and communication networks have been used in influencing public participation in political events or in raising public awareness. Wilson and Dunn (2011) assert that the uses of the internet and other communication networks in enabling people to make informed choices and influencing the decision of the public can never be underestimated. The essay assesses the organizational dynamics, which arise because of communication turning out to be a mutual section of the organizational structures. Numerous organizations have exploited media platform such as newspapers, websites, radios, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Twitter, and Televisions in pushing demonstrations across different countries and as a measure against political outcomes in the respective countries. Through digital media, these organizations have ensured the coverage of the protests, giving them more motivation as they championed for their rights. Ultimately, the pressure generated from these platforms has made governments to heeding to the protestor’s requests grounded on how well social websites and media houses covered the protestors. The topic on digital media and dissent appreciates the fact that technological networks offer more purpose than disseminating messages or information in personalized communication (Juris, 2005). Different groups such as anti-capitalists, non-governmental organizations, environmental direct activists, etc. can sponsor actions and coordinate protests through digital media. Over the previous few years, there has been a shift from traditional communication technologies and networks to more cutting-edge technology mythologies. Together with this, there has been a noteworthy shift in the thought of how the public evaluates their public leaders, as well as, supporting or protesting against certain political legislations (Bennett & Segerberg, 2012). A key issue, which has been moved to the forefront has been the capacity of how individuals to mobilize one another through sending and receiving information. According to Bennett and Segerberg (2012), the internet has been of great impact in developing a better-informed citizenry is a reality. Beutz (2009) reiterates, “The Internet has hastened both the grander flow of information and the augmented reliance on public attitude in processes of legislative decision making. News websites cover public affairs and political information far more comprehensively than even the most in-depth of newspapers and probably in vastly greater depth compared to any television news programming. Reports show that on a typical day, the Internet user can access a far broader range of information.” Different organizations and the public can attain impressive communications via messages and images spread virally across different social media platforms and indirectly when anonymous users upload YouTube videos or create Twitter streams (Juris, 2005). Such protestors can receive positive coverage for their personalized messages in national and local news, defying the common observation about the challenges in gaining positive coverage of news for collective action. In addition to propelling concerns over the economy or jobs, people can express their feelings towards their democratic systems. In comparison to numerous conventional social movement protests with recognizable membership leading under collective identity frames and common banners, the digitally mediated platforms offer more personalized collective action organizations and have been regularly been bigger, scaled up faster, and have been flexible in bridging different issues and tracking influential political targets (Tufekci & Wilson, 2012). The simple political messages propelled in Facebook or Twitter feeds provide information that is normally picked as news sources by journalists The various essentials in collective and connective actions networks are playing a critical role on how offline masses of people show unity while fighting for a mutual goal (Khondker, 2011). For instance, the role of the mobile phones, the internet, social media, and other connection technologies played part in the Egyptian revolution (Wilson & Dunn, 2011). For numerous who have long claimed that these tools will assist in toppling autocratic nation-states, the events in Egypt appeared to provide long-awaited corroboration (Bennett & Segerberg, 2012). To people that are less certain of the structural significance of such tools, it is easy to blame the role of the media in publicizing the techno-utopian story. The people pursuing more participatory governance in the country used technological tools alongside communication networks. In April 6 2006, Wael Ghonim, one of Google’s executive director together with the Youth Movement created a Facebook group ‘We Are All Khalid Said’ and an accompanying YouTube advocacy (Juris, 2005). These events were impactful in Western media for connecting and stimulating a new generation of activists in Egypt. Yet it is also affirmed that technology was only slightly, used by different factions crucial in the revolution. Social networking was a dominant force in the Egyptian society concerning organized dissent (Newsom, Lengel & Cassara, 2011). As such, social media networks are particularly a common source for information and news especially for the middle-class and those under 35 years who use it to stay updated on the latest topics of discussion in their social networks (Howard & Hussain, 2011). Indeed, numerous Facebook users consider the site as more of a publishing stage than a space for socializing online (Earl & Kimport, 2011). The most fascinating application of new media is the use of Facebook as a press management and advocacy tool by certain opposition groups. These advocacy groups are exploiting Facebook to create complete formed advocacy campaigns and publishing cycles, without restriction the use of external sites. This is a demonstration of an instance where efficiency over complexity is stimulating users to jump the conventional technology adoption cycle (Bennett & Segerberg, 2011). Nevertheless, the rising of digitally networked action has encountered some scepticism concerning what is actually very new mixed with apprehensions regarding what it suggests for political parties. In the formation of personalized action, the nominal issues may resemble party concerns in different topics but the mechanisms and ideas for organizing action become more personalized compared to where action is organized on the basis of social group membership, ideology or identity (Bimber, Flanagin & Stohl, 2012). Another example shown by the effect of digital media is organizing protests are the Indignados and the Occupy Wall Street protests in America. During these events, social networks platforms and technological applications substituted well established political institutions. In this mode of network, political grievances and demands were shared in personalized accounts, which travel over online coordinating platforms, social networking platforms, and email lists (Iskander, 2011). For instance, the easily personalized course of action in 2011, “We Are 99 percent,” which emerged from the American Occupy demonstrations swiftly travelled the universe via personal images and stories shared on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr (Castells, 2013). There is a huge impact of technological networks of communication. Currently, even global leaders reach their decisions based on the prevailing propaganda in the social media. The different social media websites provide free subscription services and therefore billions of individuals are members in them. This has ensured that the members of the different social media websites freely share their views and influence on another regardless of one’s geographical location or the influence of the authority (Van Laer & Van Aelst, 2010). Various non-governmental organizations have learnt how to exploit media houses and social media in organizing demonstrations as an affirmative action against some governmental actions, which contravene the expectations of the public (Juris, 2005). In addition, technological tools and networks have also become culturally significant as myths based on their impact (Howard et al, 2011). However, beyond immediate communications, the near-ubiquitous technological networks have also provided demonstrators with the opportunity to document the events, which were taking place (Bennett, 2005). As tools and networks for creating the revolution’s narrative, the channels have provided protesters with a sense of ownership of these events, their photos, and videos will also be used in shaping the story, which will live on. Perhaps the most interesting application of new communication network is their use as advocacy and press management tools (Castells, 2013). These platforms have been used as a spin machine whenever the government offers any opportunity. People immediately create a group or hashtag in order to collect popular anger and to vent it out to the mainstream media (Van Aelst & Walgrave, 2007). This strategy works because traditional media such as broadcast news shows and newspapers often report on the vociferousness and the size of these groups as a proxy for voicing their own political opinions. In terms of intricacy, this cross-media strategy resembles those used by Western advocacy groups (Valenzuela, Arriagada & Scherman, 2012). However, there have still been different criticisms of the platform with various critics equating the communication participation in social network with making noise. In conclusion, this essay has explored different elements in collective and connective actions networks. There are different perceptions drawn by researchers concerning the effect of social media in organizational communication. Digital media platforms and the Internet are important as channels of advocacy for various organizations in order to provide personalized public engagement. The internet and communication networks have a direct impact on democratic processes such as influencing participation in protest against certain political actions and in raising public awareness. A key issue, which has been moved to the forefront has been the capacity of how individuals to mobilize one another through sending and receiving information. Different organizations and the public can attain impressive communications via messages and images spread across different social media platforms. These can also be spread indirectly when anonymous users upload YouTube videos or create Twitter handles. Social networking was a dominant force in the Egyptian society concerning organized dissent and the Indignados and the Occupy Wall Street protests in America. Ultimately, the manner in which the different elements in collective and connective actions networks influence the decisions made by various communities, which receive the message. References Bennett, W. (2005). Communicating global activism. Information, Communication & Society, 6(2), 143-168. Bennett, W. L., & Segerberg, A. (2011). Digital media and the personalization of collective action: Social technology and the organization of protests against the global economic crisis. Information, Communication & Society, 14(6), 770-799. Bennett, W. L., & Segerberg, A. (2012). The logic of connective action: Digital media and the personalization of contentious politics. Information, Communication & Society, 15(5), 739-768. Beutz, M. (2009). Networked Activism, Harv. Hum. Rts. J., 22, 205–244. Bimber, B., Flanagin, A., & Stohl, C. (2012). Collective action in organizations: Interaction and engagement in an era of technological change. Oxford: Cambridge University Press. Castells, M. (2013). Networks of outrage and hope: Social movements in the Internet age. US: John Wiley & Sons. Earl, J., & Kimport, K. (2011). Digitally enabled social change: Activism in the internet age. UK: Mit Press. Howard, P. N., & Hussain, M. M. (2011). The role of digital media. Journal of democracy, 22(3), 35-48. Howard, P. N., Duffy, A., Freelon, D., Hussain, M., Mari, W., & Mazaid, M. (2011). Opening closed regimes: what was the role of social media during the Arab Spring?. Iskander, E. (2011). Connecting the national and the virtual: can Facebook activism remain relevant after Egypt’s January 25 uprising? International Journal of Communication, 5, 13-15. Juris, J. S. (2005). The new digital media and activist networking within anti–corporate globalization movements. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 597(1), 189-208. Khondker, H. H. (2011). Role of the new media in the Arab Spring. Globalizations, 8(5), 675-679. Newsom, V. A., Lengel, L., & Cassara, C. (2011). The Arab Spring| Local Knowledge and the Revolutions: A Framework for Social Media Information Flow. International Journal of Communication, 5, 10. Tufekci, Z., & Wilson, C. (2012). Social media and the decision to participate in political protest: Observations from Tahrir Square. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 363-379. Valenzuela, S., Arriagada, A., & Scherman, A. (2012). The social media basis of youth protest behavior: The case of Chile. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 299-314. Van Aelst, P., & Walgrave, S. (2007). New media, new movements? The role of the internet in shaping the ‘anti‐globalization’movement. Information, Communication & Society, 5(4), 465-493. Van Laer, J., & Van Aelst, P. (2010). Internet and social movement action repertoires: Opportunities and limitations. Information, Communication & Society, 13(8), 1146-1171. Wilson, C., & Dunn, A. (2011). The Arab Spring| Digital Media in the Egyptian Revolution: Descriptive Analysis from the Tahrir Data Set. International Journal of Communication, 5, 25. Read More

In comparison to numerous conventional social movement protests with recognizable membership leading under collective identity frames and common banners, the digitally mediated platforms offer more personalized collective action organizations and have been regularly been bigger, scaled up faster, and have been flexible in bridging different issues and tracking influential political targets (Tufekci & Wilson, 2012). The simple political messages propelled in Facebook or Twitter feeds provide information that is normally picked as news sources by journalists The various essentials in collective and connective actions networks are playing a critical role on how offline masses of people show unity while fighting for a mutual goal (Khondker, 2011).

For instance, the role of the mobile phones, the internet, social media, and other connection technologies played part in the Egyptian revolution (Wilson & Dunn, 2011). For numerous who have long claimed that these tools will assist in toppling autocratic nation-states, the events in Egypt appeared to provide long-awaited corroboration (Bennett & Segerberg, 2012). To people that are less certain of the structural significance of such tools, it is easy to blame the role of the media in publicizing the techno-utopian story.

The people pursuing more participatory governance in the country used technological tools alongside communication networks. In April 6 2006, Wael Ghonim, one of Google’s executive director together with the Youth Movement created a Facebook group ‘We Are All Khalid Said’ and an accompanying YouTube advocacy (Juris, 2005). These events were impactful in Western media for connecting and stimulating a new generation of activists in Egypt. Yet it is also affirmed that technology was only slightly, used by different factions crucial in the revolution.

Social networking was a dominant force in the Egyptian society concerning organized dissent (Newsom, Lengel & Cassara, 2011). As such, social media networks are particularly a common source for information and news especially for the middle-class and those under 35 years who use it to stay updated on the latest topics of discussion in their social networks (Howard & Hussain, 2011). Indeed, numerous Facebook users consider the site as more of a publishing stage than a space for socializing online (Earl & Kimport, 2011).

The most fascinating application of new media is the use of Facebook as a press management and advocacy tool by certain opposition groups. These advocacy groups are exploiting Facebook to create complete formed advocacy campaigns and publishing cycles, without restriction the use of external sites. This is a demonstration of an instance where efficiency over complexity is stimulating users to jump the conventional technology adoption cycle (Bennett & Segerberg, 2011). Nevertheless, the rising of digitally networked action has encountered some scepticism concerning what is actually very new mixed with apprehensions regarding what it suggests for political parties.

In the formation of personalized action, the nominal issues may resemble party concerns in different topics but the mechanisms and ideas for organizing action become more personalized compared to where action is organized on the basis of social group membership, ideology or identity (Bimber, Flanagin & Stohl, 2012). Another example shown by the effect of digital media is organizing protests are the Indignados and the Occupy Wall Street protests in America. During these events, social networks platforms and technological applications substituted well established political institutions.

In this mode of network, political grievances and demands were shared in personalized accounts, which travel over online coordinating platforms, social networking platforms, and email lists (Iskander, 2011). For instance, the easily personalized course of action in 2011, “We Are 99 percent,” which emerged from the American Occupy demonstrations swiftly travelled the universe via personal images and stories shared on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr (Castells, 2013).

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