Inspiring stories of social activism, such as the Civil Rights movement and the fight against climate change, abound in history. And it is generally thought that the new social media era has helped cases of activism to succeed. But our research has revealed some major threats, which activists need to understand if they are to be successful in getting their message across to the masses.
Social activism refers to a broad range of activities which are beneficial to society or particular interest groups. Social activists operate in groups to voice, educate and agitate for change, targeting global crises.
Take, for example, environmental groups such as Greenpeace which aim to curb climate change by targeting governments and major manufacturers with poor environmental records. Or the anti-sweatshop movement, which started with a group of activists in the 19th century organising boycotts aimed at improving the conditions of workers in manufacturing places with low wages, poor working conditions and child labour.
Online social activism
These days the voices of dissent have increasingly been carried via the evolving medium of the internet. From #Metoo, #TimesUp and #WeStrike to #NeverAgain and #BlackLivesMatter, social activists wield the power of the internet to pressure powerful organisations.
The group 350.org, for example, is made up of climate change activists. The group uses online campaigns and grassroots organising to oppose new coal, oil and gas projects. Its aim is to get society moving closer to clean energy solutions that work for all.
Online activism allows activists to organise events with high levels of engagement, focus and network strength. On the one hand, researchers suggest that the anonymity offered by online communication provides the possibility of expressing the views of marginalised minority groups that might otherwise be punished or sanctioned. Online activities reinforce collective identity by reducing attention to differences that exist within the group (such as education, social class, and ethnicity).
The online threats
But other research argues that while this modern form of activism may increase participation in online activities, it might merely create the impression of activism. Or it may even have negative consequences, such as creating social stereotypes including those about feminists and environmentalists or getting social activists arrested as is the case in authoritarian countries.
The aim of our research was to develop insights that would obtain better outcomes from online activism, targeting some of society’s most important issues. During our study, we collected data from three YouTube cases of online activism. Our findings suggest that online activism delivers a temporary shock to the organisational elites, help organise collective actions and amplify the conditions for movements to form.
The elites fight back
But these initial outcomes provoke the elites into action, resulting in counter measures – such as increased surveillance to track activists. For example, some governmental authorities intensified internet filtering, blocked access to several websites and decreased the speed of the internet connection to slow down social activism. These measures prompted self-censorship among activists and a loss of interest among the public in relation to the cause and contributed to the ultimate decline of social activism over time.
Our study challenged the optimistic hype around online activism in enabling grassroots social movements by suggesting there is a complex relationship between activists and those groups they are targeting, which makes the outcomes very difficult to predict. As different parties with different interests intervene, they either encourage or inhibit activism.
While encouraging actions can take the form of support (such as the thousands of women around the world who posted on social media sharing their stories under #metoo), inhibiting actions may come in the form of information asymmetry (strategies such as filtering and surveillance) from elites.
Inhibiting strategies are not limited to authoritarian organisations. Senior managers may also monitor email correspondence of staff, set up structures and hierarchies for access to organisational information, and use information provided by secretive companies to check the status of their employees (for example, blacklisting workers perceived as trouble-makers).
Less emotion and more strategic patience
Online activists should understand that the dynamics of reaching collective action might not necessarily be the result of critical thinking, lifelong learning or other dimensions of civic engagement. Journalist Nicholas Kristoff has talked about how the anti-sweatshop movement “risks harming the impoverished workers it is hoping to help” by causing mass job redundancies. Similarly, our main message is that online activism could prompt reactions that will result in unintended and long lasting consequences for the activists involved.
A common and frequently used approach that risks these types of consequences is to share emotive information through social media. While this is used to inform and capture people’s attention and mobilise as many people as possible, our study suggests that more thought should be put into the consequences of information sharing and what information is most appropriate to be shared.
Activists may need to spend more time and energy to create and share information that is less emotive and help people learn about the underlying causes of problem. For example, the activism videos we have researched and commonly see on the internet are essentially reactive and emotive.
Instead of focusing on the problem and the need for change, activists can share information that explains why and how the current situation has been created and what can be learned for the future. Online activism in such manner can gradually lead to the development of people who are capable of generating new knowledge and wisdom to respond to changing social environments. However, that requires strategic patience and that is often a scarce resource among activists desperate for change.
Hadithi za kuvutia za uendeshaji wa kijamii, kama vile harakati za Haki za Kiraia na mapambano dhidi ya mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa, ni nyingi katika historia. Na kwa ujumla inafikiriwa kwamba enzi mpya ya mitandao ya kijamii imesaidia kesi za uendeshaji wa mafanikio. Lakini utafiti wetu umefunua baadhi ya vitisho vikubwa, ambavyo wanaharakati wanahitaji kuelewa ikiwa wanataka kufanikiwa kupata ujumbe wao kwa watu wengi. Utendaji wa kijamii unahusu aina mbalimbali za shughuli ambazo ni za manufaa kwa jamii au vikundi maalum vya maslahi. Wanaharakati wa kijamii hufanya kazi katika vikundi ili kutoa sauti, kuelimisha na kushawishi mabadiliko, wakilenga mgogoro wa kimataifa. Kwa mfano, vikundi vya mazingira kama vile Greenpeace vinavyolenga kuzuia mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa kwa kulenga serikali na wazalishaji wakuu wenye rekodi duni za mazingira. Harakati ya kupinga kazi za kulazimisha watu kufanya kazi kwa nguvu ilianza katika karne ya 19 na kikundi cha wanaharakati waliopanga kupiga marufuku ili kuboresha hali ya wafanyakazi katika viwanda vya viwanda, na kuleta mshahara wa chini, hali mbaya za kazi na kazi ya watoto. Katika siku hizi, sauti za kutokubaliana zimekuwa zikipelekwa zaidi kupitia njia inayobadilika ya mtandao. Kutoka #MeToo, #TimesUp na #WeStrike hadi #NeverAgain na #BlackLivesMatter, wanaharakati wa kijamii wanatumia nguvu za mtandao kushinikiza mashirika yenye nguvu. 350.org ni mtandao wa kijamii unaoundwa na wanaharakati wa mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa. Kikundi hicho hutumia kampeni za mtandaoni na kuandaa msingi ili kupinga miradi mpya ya makaa ya mawe, mafuta na gesi. Lengo lake ni kupata jamii kusonga karibu na ufumbuzi wa nishati safi ambayo kazi kwa wote. Utendaji wa mtandaoni huruhusu wanaharakati kuandaa matukio na viwango vya juu vya ushiriki, umakini na nguvu ya mtandao. Kwa upande mmoja, watafiti wanadokeza kwamba kutokujulikana kwa mawasiliano ya mtandaoni hutoa uwezekano wa kuelezea maoni ya vikundi vya wachache vilivyoondolewa ambao vinginevyo wanaweza kuadhibiwa au kuadhibiwa. Shughuli za mtandaoni huimarisha utambulisho wa pamoja kwa kupunguza umakini kwa tofauti zilizopo ndani ya kikundi (kama vile elimu, darasa la kijamii, na kikabila). Uhatarishaji wa mtandaoni: Utafiti mwingine unasema kwamba wakati aina hii ya kisasa ya uendeshaji inaweza kuongeza ushiriki katika shughuli za mtandaoni, inaweza tu kuunda hisia ya uendeshaji. "Hata hivyo, huenda ikawa na matokeo mabaya, kama vile kuunda maoni ya kawaida ya kijamii, ikiwa ni pamoja na yale kuhusu wanaharakati wa haki za wanawake na mazingira, au kuwafanya wanaharakati wa kijamii wakamatwe kama ilivyo katika nchi zenye utawala wa kimabavu.""" Lengo la utafiti wetu lilikuwa kuendeleza ufahamu ambao ungepata matokeo bora kutoka kwa harakati za mtandaoni, ukielekeza baadhi ya masuala muhimu zaidi ya jamii. Katika utafiti wetu, tulikusanya data kutoka kwa kesi tatu za YouTube za uendeshaji mtandaoni. """Ugunduzi wetu unaonyesha kwamba uendeshaji wa mtandaoni hutoa mshtuko wa muda kwa wasomi wa shirika, kusaidia kuandaa vitendo vya pamoja na kuimarisha hali za kuunda harakati." Wasomi wanapigana lakini matokeo haya ya awali yanawashawishi wasomi kutenda, ikisababisha hatua za kukabiliana - kama vile kuongezeka kwa ufuatiliaji wa kufuatilia wanaharakati. Kwa mfano, baadhi ya mamlaka za serikali ziliongeza ukaguzi wa mtandao, kuziba upatikanaji wa tovuti kadhaa na kupunguza kasi ya muunganisho wa mtandao ili kupunguza kasi ya harakati za kijamii. Hatua hizi zilisababisha kujizuia miongoni mwa wanaharakati na kupoteza maslahi miongoni mwa umma kuhusiana na sababu na kuchangia kupungua kwa mwisho wa harakati za kijamii kwa muda. Utafiti wetu ulipinga msisimko wa matumaini kuhusu uendeshaji wa mtandaoni katika kuwezesha harakati za kijamii za msingi kwa kupendekeza kuna uhusiano tata kati ya wanaharakati na makundi wanayowalenga, ambayo hufanya matokeo kuwa magumu sana kutabiri. Kwa kuwa vyama tofauti-tofauti vyenye maslahi tofauti-tofauti huingilia kati, wao huchochea au kuzuia uchochezi. Wakati hatua za kuhamasisha zinaweza kuchukua fomu ya msaada (kama maelfu ya wanawake ulimwenguni kote ambao walichapisha kwenye media ya kijamii kushiriki hadithi zao chini ya #MeToo), hatua za kuzuia zinaweza kuja katika fomu ya habari asymmetry (mikakati kama vile kuchuja na ufuatiliaji) kutoka kwa wasomi. Mikakati ya kuzuia haipatikani tu katika mashirika ya kimabavu. "Manaja wa juu wanaweza pia kufuatilia barua pepe ya wafanyakazi, kuanzisha miundo na hierarchies kwa ajili ya upatikanaji wa taarifa za shirika, na kutumia taarifa zinazotolewa na makampuni siri kuangalia hali ya wafanyakazi wao (kwa mfano, blacklisting wafanyakazi waliona kama ""troublemakers")."" "Wanajamii wa mtandao wanapaswa kuelewa kwamba nguvu ya kufikia hatua ya pamoja inaweza kuwa sio lazima matokeo ya kufikiri muhimu, kujifunza maisha yote au vipimo vingine vya ushiriki wa kiraia. """ Mwandishi wa habari Nicholas Kristoff amezungumza juu ya jinsi harakati ya kupinga kazi za kulazimisha "inavyohatarisha wafanyakazi maskini ambao inatumaini kuwasaidia" kwa kusababisha kufutwa kazi kwa wingi. "Kwa hivyo, ujumbe wetu kuu ni kwamba uendeshaji wa mtandao unaweza kusababisha athari ambazo zitaongoza kwa matokeo yasiyotarajiwa na ya muda mrefu kwa wanaharakati wanaohusika. """ Njia ya kawaida na inayotumiwa mara nyingi ambayo hatari ya aina hizi za matokeo ni kushiriki habari ya hisia kupitia media ya kijamii. Ingawa hii hutumiwa kutoa habari na kukamata tahadhari ya watu na kuhamasisha watu wengi iwezekanavyo, utafiti wetu unaonyesha kwamba mawazo zaidi yanapaswa kuwekwa katika matokeo ya kushiriki habari na ni habari gani inayofaa zaidi kugawanywa. Wanaharakati wanaweza kuhitaji kutumia muda na nishati zaidi kuunda na kushiriki habari ambayo ni chini ya hisia na kusaidia watu kujifunza kuhusu sababu za msingi za tatizo. Kwa mfano, video za uendeshaji ambazo tumefanya utafiti na kwa kawaida huona kwenye mtandao ni za athari na za hisia. Badala ya kuzingatia tatizo na uhitaji wa mabadiliko, wanaharakati wanaweza kushiriki habari zinazoelezea kwa nini na jinsi hali ya sasa imeundwa na nini kinaweza kujifunza kwa siku zijazo. "Kusafiri kwa njia ya mtandao kwa njia hii inaweza hatua kwa hatua kusababisha maendeleo ya watu ambao ni uwezo wa kuzalisha maarifa mapya na hekima ya kukabiliana na mabadiliko ya mazingira ya kijamii. """ Hata hivyo, hilo huhitaji subira ya kimkakati na mara nyingi hiyo ni rasilimali ndogo miongoni mwa wanaharakati wanaotaka sana mabadiliko.