Societies in Flux
The twenty-first century has ushered in a society in constant use of technology; from posting on Instagram to checking the news, we are continually drawn to the powers of our phones, computers and tablets. Few will question that society has become dependent on our various technologies. What is not so certain, however, is whether that technology strengthens our society or if it takes away from our communal connections and strengths. This debate takes place on small scales, in the way it may change the relationship between friends or alter the dynamics on a college campus. Yet the stakes of this debate resound much higher than these interpersonal and inter-institutional scales: the controversy over the positives and negatives …show more content…
Others see the rise of technology correlate with a degradation of social change. Malcolm Gladwell falls into the latter group, stating that technology “make it easier for activists to express themselves, and harder for that expression to have any impact” (Gladwell, p. 431). This statement represents the strong argument that Gladwell constructs in opposition to the incorporation of technology into activism; however, the stakes of this argument are so high as to necessitate a further examination of the merits of this argument and the potential impacts that it may have on societal change.
In “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”, Gladwell contrasts the power of history’s high risk and hierarchical protest movements to today’s activism, which purportedly has been degraded by the weak-tie, decentralized nature of social media. Using an analysis of these contrasts between historical and contemporary movements as his primary argumentative tool, Gladwell adds strength in his reasoning by emphasizing social media’s inability to organize strong tie connections or hierarchical organization structures. He illustrates the necessity of both of these concepts with the boycott
The twenty-first century has ushered in a society in constant use of technology; from posting on Instagram to checking the news, we are continually drawn to the powers of our phones, computers and tablets. Few will question that society has become dependent on our various technologies. What is not so certain, however, is whether that technology strengthens our society or if it takes away from our communal connections and strengths. This debate takes place on small scales, in the way it may change the relationship between friends or alter the dynamics on a college campus. Yet the stakes of this debate resound much higher than these interpersonal and inter-institutional scales: the controversy over the positives and negatives …show more content…
Others see the rise of technology correlate with a degradation of social change. Malcolm Gladwell falls into the latter group, stating that technology “make it easier for activists to express themselves, and harder for that expression to have any impact” (Gladwell, p. 431). This statement represents the strong argument that Gladwell constructs in opposition to the incorporation of technology into activism; however, the stakes of this argument are so high as to necessitate a further examination of the merits of this argument and the potential impacts that it may have on societal change.
In “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”, Gladwell contrasts the power of history’s high risk and hierarchical protest movements to today’s activism, which purportedly has been degraded by the weak-tie, decentralized nature of social media. Using an analysis of these contrasts between historical and contemporary movements as his primary argumentative tool, Gladwell adds strength in his reasoning by emphasizing social media’s inability to organize strong tie connections or hierarchical organization structures. He illustrates the necessity of both of these concepts with the boycott