Individual social movement participation can be largely understood through transition points – moments in a person’s life when his or her daily routines are drastically and irrevocably changed. Munson (2010) defines transition points as a simultaneous change in an individual’s everyday routines and a change in their social networks. Those who become active in social movements must change their daily routines in order to participate in meetings, protests, and demonstrations. This adjustment is far easier when individuals are at a transition point, where their social networks and existing habits have been disrupted, leaving greater room for civic participation and activism. Whereas there is a widespread belief that young people are largely inactive
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The Occupy Wall Street movement relied heavily on social media, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter during its initial mobilization phase. According to Juris (2012), networking outside of centralized, physical spaces contributed to the power and flexibility of the movement, although this form of organizing created a weak foundation for any long-term plans and goals. Additionally, due to the heavy reliance on social media as a facilitating tool, the Occupy movement operated more as an aggregation of individuals rather than a network, including people of various backgrounds and levels of experience in the movement (Juris, 2012). Moreover, in launching the #OccupyWallStreet campaign, the organizers focused primarily on communication, as though hoping that the hashtag’s viral diffusion across social networking sites would create the momentum needed to emerge a more organized social movement (Gerbaudo, 2012). Nonetheless, social media was highly effective during the Occupy movement in raising awareness about issues such as inequality, unemployment, and financial deregulation (Juris, 2012). Additionally, social media usage has helped social movements attract participants, get media attention, and work around the constraints of its …show more content…
Turning to recent and ongoing social movements such as the Occupy Wall Street, DREAMers, and Black Lives Matter movements demonstrate how social media can be used effectively as alternative platforms that compress space and time, network across organizations, and include traditionally disenfranchised groups in civic and political spheres. Furthermore, we must redefine conventional constructs of civic engagement to include actions on alternative platforms and ultimately move toward a more accurate depiction of activism in an era marked by rapid technological transformations. Whereas this paper generally praises social networking sites for their mobilizing power, it must be noted that face-to-face interactions are equally crucial, and movements should achieve a healthy balance between online and offline organization. Moreover, since social media activism is a relatively new phenomenon, the related scholarship is fairly limited and lacks significant causal data on the ability of these platforms to bridge the gap across demographic groups who are traditionally underrepresented in politics. Lastly, it is crucial that these alternative channels for activism are legitimized in order to attain a greater body of research and subsequent meaningful policy changes that more accurately represent the concerns of all citizens, regardless of their current marginalization in the political
The Occupy Wall Street movement relied heavily on social media, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter during its initial mobilization phase. According to Juris (2012), networking outside of centralized, physical spaces contributed to the power and flexibility of the movement, although this form of organizing created a weak foundation for any long-term plans and goals. Additionally, due to the heavy reliance on social media as a facilitating tool, the Occupy movement operated more as an aggregation of individuals rather than a network, including people of various backgrounds and levels of experience in the movement (Juris, 2012). Moreover, in launching the #OccupyWallStreet campaign, the organizers focused primarily on communication, as though hoping that the hashtag’s viral diffusion across social networking sites would create the momentum needed to emerge a more organized social movement (Gerbaudo, 2012). Nonetheless, social media was highly effective during the Occupy movement in raising awareness about issues such as inequality, unemployment, and financial deregulation (Juris, 2012). Additionally, social media usage has helped social movements attract participants, get media attention, and work around the constraints of its …show more content…
Turning to recent and ongoing social movements such as the Occupy Wall Street, DREAMers, and Black Lives Matter movements demonstrate how social media can be used effectively as alternative platforms that compress space and time, network across organizations, and include traditionally disenfranchised groups in civic and political spheres. Furthermore, we must redefine conventional constructs of civic engagement to include actions on alternative platforms and ultimately move toward a more accurate depiction of activism in an era marked by rapid technological transformations. Whereas this paper generally praises social networking sites for their mobilizing power, it must be noted that face-to-face interactions are equally crucial, and movements should achieve a healthy balance between online and offline organization. Moreover, since social media activism is a relatively new phenomenon, the related scholarship is fairly limited and lacks significant causal data on the ability of these platforms to bridge the gap across demographic groups who are traditionally underrepresented in politics. Lastly, it is crucial that these alternative channels for activism are legitimized in order to attain a greater body of research and subsequent meaningful policy changes that more accurately represent the concerns of all citizens, regardless of their current marginalization in the political