Con: “Nothing Can Substitute for the Street”

Written by Mary on March 18, 2008 – 7:33 pm -

Although this site is about how technology empowers activists on a global scale, we must not be blind optimists or think of digital activism as a panacea. For this reason we include thoughtful criticism of digital activism. If we want to make truly meaningful change we must address the Pros & Cons of digital activism.

jessiecagan

The following quote is from a profile in the New York Times of Jessie Cagan (pictured above), the leader of the anti-war coalition United for Peace and Justice. She is talking about the use of the Internet in protesting the Iraq war.

“On the one hand, it’s a terrific tool,” she said. “We are able to get word out to massive numbers of people like that.” She snapped her fingers to make the point. “But the downside is that some people think that if they sign an online petition, that’s it.”

Whether one is for or against the war, nothing can substitute for the street.

“When you do something online, you do it in your home or your office,” Ms. Cagan said. “It’s not public.

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Posted in Americas, E-Petitions, Mid-East & N. Africa, Pros & Cons | 1 Comment »

Con: Facebook Activism Doesn’t Match the Real Thing

Written by Mary on February 21, 2008 – 11:20 pm -

The following comment is by Mike Eber, a student at the University of Michigan in the USA. He tried to organize a march on campus using Facebook. The event’s Facebook page listed 230 confirmed attendees, with about 350 more saying they would “maybe” attend. However, only 20 people actually showed up for the march. Here he argues that the Internet is still not a replacement for offline contact and organizing:

Interactive social networking makes self-expression easy, to the point that the ease itself is its flaw…. This is exactly what plagues Facebook communication. Can sending an e-mail or joining a Facebook group equal the sincerity of using valuable time to participate in a demonstration? Probably not. But consider it in more personal terms. How does writing “happy birthday” on a friend’s Facebook wall, for example, compare to a customary phone call?

Although Internet organization might be the grassroots forum of the future, the behavior of the Facebook generation has not caught up with our pre-Internet expectations of human behavior…. For this to change, we must put our money where our mouse is.

Source: The Michigan Daily


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Posted in Americas, Pros & Cons, Social Networks | No Comments »

Con: Digital Activism and the Digital Divide in Kenya

Written by Mary on January 18, 2008 – 12:27 am -

Although this site is about how technology empowers activists on a global scale, we must not be blind optimists or think of digital activism as a panacea. For this reason we include thoughtful criticism of digital activism. If we want to make truly meaningful change we must address the Pros & Cons of digital activism.

Today’s note of digital skepticism comes from the Kenyan blogger White African in a post entitled “It’s Not About Us, it’s About Them” he writes:

While blogging, emails, Twitter and the internet are doing a great deal of good getting the news out of what’s going on in Kenya to the rest of the world, I find myself troubled. You see, the communication that needs to be happening is at the grassroots level. Everyday Kenyans do not have access to any of these services.
Let’s put our minds and capabilities towards solving real problems for people beyond the technologically elite.

Let’s put our minds and capabilities towards solving real problems for people beyond the technologically elite.


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Posted in Pros & Cons, Sub-Saharan Africa | No Comments »