Social media platforms like Twitter can be effective tools for social activism and creating social change. While social media is often viewed primarily for entertainment, it can start important conversations about social issues on a large scale and help promote social good. One prominent example is the Ice Bucket Challenge on social media, which raised significant awareness and funds for ALS. Overall, digital activism allows more people, including younger generations, to get involved in issues and help shape contemporary society.

1. SOCIALMEDIA
SOCIALCHANGEE X A M I N I N G H O W T H E U S E O F S O C I A L M E D I A S H O U L D B E V I E W E D A S
A S E R I O U S P L A T F O R M F O R S O C I A L I S S U E S A N D C R E A T I N G S O C I A L
C H A N G E
Jessica Walke
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2. T h r o u g h e x a m i n i n g t h e i n h e r e n t l y p o s i t i v e a s p e c t s o f s o c i a l m e d i a v e r s u s t h e
c o m m o n l y m i s c o n s t r u e d n e g a t i v e i s s u e s o f t h e m e d i a , o n e c a n f u l l y
c o m p r e h e n d t h a t s o c i a l m e d i a o u t l e t s , f o r e x a m p l e T w i t t e r , c a n b e s e e n a s a
m a i n s o u r c e s o f p r o m o t i n g s o c i a l g o o d a n d s t a r t i n g c o n v e r s a t i o n s a b o u t l a r g e
s o c i a l i s s u e s t h a t c a n e v o l v e c o n t e m p o r a r y s o c i e t y .
Activismvsentertainment
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3. "TECHNICALFLUENCYIS
DEFINEDASTHEABILITY
TO REFORMULATE
KNOWLEDGE,TOEXPRESS
ONESELFCREATIVELYAND
APPROPRIATELY,ANDTO
PRODUCE ANDGENERATE
INFORMATIONRATHER
THANSIMPLYTO
COMPREHENDIT"(1)
- N a t i o n a l R e s e a r c h
C o u n c i l
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5. WHYISSOCIALMEDIA
ONLYNOTICEDFOR
ITSHARDSHIPS?
With social media starting to become a primary
source of starting conversations and spreading
awareness about social change, one must ignore
the assumed negative aspects and embrace
oneself in the digital activism age.

6. FUNFACTS
65%
...of the time spent
within the day is online
via mobile phones (2)
25 to 34
...is the typical age
demographic for the social
media outlet Facebook (3)
40%
...more money is raised
when companies and
awareness groups use
social sign-ins. (4)

7. DIGITAL
ACTIVISM
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8. WHATISDIGITAL
ACTIVISM?
"...refers to both to the digital technology that is used in a given activism
campaign and to the economic, social, and political context in which
such technology use occurs."
- Mary C. Joyce, Digital Activism Decoded (8)
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9. WHAT ISDIGITAL
ACTIVISM?
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e M e t a - A c t i v i s m P r o j e c t ,
t h e t e r m c a n b e d e f i n e d a s , " t h e p r a c t i c e
o f u s i n g d i g i t a l t e c h n o l o g y f o r p o l i t i c a l
a n d s o c i a l c h a n g e . " ( 4 )
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10. SOCIALMEDIA
S o c i a l m e d i a i s p r i m a r i l y u s e d
f o r e n t e r t a i n m e n t , r a t h e r t h a n
f o r a c t i v i s m . A s o n e c a n
a c k n o w l e d g e t h i s n o t i o n , o n e
w o u l d a s s u m e t h a t s o c i a l
m e d i a i s n o t a s p a c e w h e r e
o n e c a n s e r i o u s l y s p r e a d
a w a r e n e s s .
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11. DEROGATORY
TERM?
"CLICKTIVISM, SLACKTIVISM,
HASHTAG ACTIVISM... WHATEVER YOU
WANT TO CALL IT, IT'S MEANT AS A
DEROGATORY TERM - THOUGH IT
SHOULDN'T BE" (5)
- RITU SHARMA,
HUFFINGTON POST

12. THISISNOTTHE
CASE
USING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SOCIAL CHANGE IS A PERFECT WAY
FOR A YOUNGER GENERATION TO BE INVESTED IN CREATING
CHANGE FOR SOCIETY
Although there are many understandings that display social
media as an enemy of contemporary society, one must
understand that allowing social issues and understandings to
go viral throughout the media, As Sarah Ditum suggests, it
allows individuals to get involved who might not usually voice
their opinions. (9)

13. TWITTER
T w i t t e r i s a m a i n o u t l e t f o r c r e a t i n g c o n v e r s a t i o n s a n d a w a r e n e s s
f o r p o l i t i c a l , e c o n o m i c , a n d s o c i a l i s s u e s t h a t h a v e b e e n a r i s i n g
w i t h i n c o n t e m p o r a r y s o c i e t y . A m a i n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f T w i t t e r a s a
s o u r c e f o r a c t i v i s m i s t h e n o t i o n t h a t o n e i n d i v i d u a l , w h o m i g h t n o t
a s s u m e t h a t t h e i r v o i c e w i l l m a t t e r , c a n c a u s e a l a r g e o u t p o u r o f
a p p r e c i a t i o n a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g f o r s o c i a l i s s u e s w i t h i n t h e w o r l d .
( 6 )
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14. LISTENAND
LEARN
"We can use online spaces to listen and learn,
before we step in to say what we think. Some of the
most powerful conversations I’ve seen online have
been those that I haven’t participated in - I’ve simply
listened, and learned."
-Jessamy Gleeson, Huffington Post UK (7)

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16. ASPACEFOR
EVERYONE
A s s o c i a l m e d i a
b e c o m i n g m o r e
c o m m o n w i t h i n
o l d e r g e n e r a t i o n s
( 2 ) , o n e c a n
a c k n o w l e d g e t h a t
d i g i t a l a c t i v i s m i s
a f o r m o f s o c i a l
a c t i o n t h a t a l m o s t
a l l i n d i v i d u a l s c a n
b e a p a r t o f .
Although any
individual can add
to the conversation
with negative
commentary, this
form of activism can
still allow many
people to see and
understand different
points of view and
different beliefs,
while also explaining
their own.Photo CC: Advanced Google Search

17. ICEBUCKET
CHALLENGE
A clear example of social activism being dominated by the digital age is the ice bucket challenge to create
awareness and raise money for individuals with the debilitating disease of ALS. This challenge, where
individuals pour ice - cold water onto their bodies to mimic the pain of ALS sufferers, was spread throughout
many different social media outlets and raised an ample amount of understanding for this disease. This is a
prime example of how well the digital age can be involved in social action
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18. "THEINTERNETHASALWAYSALLOWED
PEOPLETOFORMNEWCOMMUNITIES
ANDSHARERESOURCES.BUTMORE
ANDMOREGROUPSARENOW
TURNINGTOADIFFERENTSETOF
IDEOLOGICALANDPRACTICALTOOLS,
CREATINGCOOPERATIVEPLATFORMS
TOBRINGABOUTSOCIALCHANGE"(10)
- A t h i n a K a r a t z o g i a n n a ,
T h e C o n v e r s a t i o n

19. DRAWING
CONCLUSIONS
WITH THE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT
INDIVIDUALS ASSUME SOCIAL MEDIA IS USED
FOR, AND DISPLAYING THE NOTIONS OF DIGITAL
ACTIVISM THROUGHOUT TWITTER, AND
PRESENTING THE EXAMPLE OF THE ALS ICE
BUCKET CHALLENGE, ONE CAN ASSUME THAT
WITHIN CONTEMPORARY TIMES, DIGITAL
ACTIVISM IS ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS FORMS
OF SOCIAL ACTION.

20. RESOURCES
(1) Matrix, Sydneyeve. "Social Good". 2017. Lecture.
(2) Matrix, Sydneyeve. "Digital Literacies". 2017. Lecture.
(3) Matrix, Sydneyeve. "Online Friends". 2017. Lecture.
(4) Macmanus, Richard. "Digital Activism: An Interview With Mary Joyce - Readwrite". ReadWrite.
N.p., 2010.
(5)Sharma, Ritu. "Stop Pouring Ice On Clicktivism". HuffPost. N.p., 2014. Web.
(6)Brescianni, Sabrina, and Andreas Schmeil. "Social Media Platforms For Social Good". Social
Media Platforms For Social Good. 2017. Web.
(7)Gleeson, Jessamy. "What's Next For Digital Feminism?". HuffPost UK. N.p., 2017. Web.
(8)Joyce, Mary C. Digital Activism Decoded. 1st ed. New York: International Debate Education
Association, 2010. Print.
(9)Cummins, Jaz. "Is Digital Activism An Effective Medium For Change? | Jaz Cummins". the
Guardian. N.p., 2017. Web.
(10) Karatzogianni, Athina. "Beyond Hashtags: How A New Wave Of Digital Activists Is Changing
Society". The Conversation. N.p., 2017. Web. 8 June 2017.
(11) All photos received, from Google Advanced Search, are under a creative commons license