Happy Sunday and Father’s Day to all the fathers out there. Here is my A1 analysis of mobile activism, which is an aspect of mobile culture and technology that has emerged in the past few years as an accessible and powerful way for everyday people to take part in activism and affect social, political, economic, and environmental change. This analysis was inspired by recent mobile activism and protests in the U.S. after the death of George Floyd, and though I have attempted an unbiased and depoliticized reporting of mobile activism, I have chosen not to mention certain movements that run contrary to inclusivity and tolerance.
https://mddrake.wixsite.com/mobileactivism
Thank you for viewing, and if you have comments, concerns, or suggestions for me, please feel free to post them. – Mel
Hey Mel,
This is a really cool topic. I run an Environmental Humanities Research Forum on facebook and had a grad student do a survey last month on how many people joined movements due to links over social media. Another interesting anecdote is from my time at UCT, where the university shut down wifi during the Fees Must Fall protests so that students could not communicate with one another and organise meetings or share info (data is expensive in SA so many rely on wifi from the university in order to be able to communicate on mobile devices at all).
Slacktivism/clicktivisim (mobile based performance activism) is a big issue though, as it gives a sense of participation to those who are not actually well involved. This is the dark side of the coin: for all the power of mobile activism, there is the side where people thinking posting a black square on instagram on a Tuesday means that they are actually involved in deconstructing institutionalised marginalisation.
I’m all for the optimistic picture though, and I think the dialogue alone that happens in mobile activism is an exciting form of informal education. #educatedonthate is a powerful mantra to work by: sharing who we are and the things we see, as well as solutions we have, could go a far way if everyone learns to listen and respond rather than just unfollowing.
Thanks for this great resource 🙂
Hi Mel,
Informative and well-organized website! This is a very good topic as it is current and impacts everyone. When I was in secondary school, I remember my teacher telling me that Internet helps to make bridges between cultures and connects the world. This might have been true then but I think, social media has now overtaken this role. Social media combined with mobile technologies truly makes this world a global village. It’s almost impossible to block information at present time. Furthermore, people of all backgrounds now have a say and a voice. Mobile activism is pushing to enable democracy and promote diversity through grassroots participation in cultural and political decision-making. It gives members of marginalized communities the opportunities to become producers and not consumers of digital media.
Hi Mel,
Thank you for your engaging analysis. The tech mobility aspect of activism is something that I don’t think I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating, despite how crucial that mobility is in the whole process of activism. I guess that when I look at protests, I just assume that there have always been cell phones right alongside the action, especially with protests and riots. Now that I think about it more, I wonder how several of the riots in Vancouver (in 2011 with the NHL playoffs and in 2002 with Guns n Roses) would have gone had there been more ability to take photos and videos and widely share them on social media platforms. Would the ease of video distribution led some of the rioters to rethink their actions, or should widespread sharing have brought together even more people to join in the destruction? I remember that after the 2002 riot, Vancouver Police released a website where you could identify those that caused property damage based on the limited photos/videos that they had (this sticks out so well to me because several of my teammates from football were among those involved). I know riots and activism aren’t synonyms, but there is definitely some overlap between them.
I definitely like all that can be taught to students through mobile activism, whether through the technology piece (discovering functionalities and producing content) or by being exposed to content created by others. I think it’s an interesting subject to work through with students. Very powerful, but also one to be careful about.
Hi Mel,
I really love your website on mobile activism and I think it is such an important aspect in mobile culture today. Because of the most recent events, social justice conversations have been more in dialogue with my students. I had asked my students if they knew what was going on in world right now (other than managing COVID) and about 4 out of 9 raised their hands. I asked those 4 students what they thought was happening and they mentioned the protests, riots and George Floyd. I asked them how they knew of this as they are only 9 years of age and they said from Instagram and Tik Tok. Mobile technology and social media does lend itself a huge resource in the spread of information to youth. What I’m wondering though is that if these issues are being shown to our young students through social media, how is it portrayed and delivered? If it is filmed or commented on, then it can often be biased and influence our students to some degree? I feel that it is really important to share this information with our students in a way where they can form their own opinions, think critically and provide them a the tools to support their desires for social change. One year, I taught grade 7s and we created PSAs (Public Service Announcements) on social justice issues that they felt were important. Would you have any ideas on how to bring relevance and educate students who are in grades 4 and 5?
Thank you so much for analyzing this very crucial topic in mobile culture.
Thank you, Kat, for your feedback and questions – I will likely amend this A1 to further develop it, especially the education potential section.
Creating PSAs is an awesome way for students at any grade level to develop the skills mentioned in the analysis, and topics can be carefully selected. With younger students there are definitely social, political, and economic issues that affect them and could be self-selected but environmental issues are “safer” for teachers to introduce. If I taught grades 4 and 5, I’d probably lean towards environmental topics (community gardening, preservation of insects and animals, reducing carbon footprint, restoration/beautification of neglected areas in the neighborhood/on campus), or social-emotional issues related to school like anti-bullying, being a good friend, conflict resolution, etc. However, I just read this article (linked below) and it made me rethink avoiding some of the social and political issues that kids are aware of, impacted by, and might be anxious about. I just wouldn’t know how to approach those issues from my experience as a secondary teacher and an adult without a child. Teaching Tolerance does have great resources, though, about social issues for teachers at every grade level.
https://ideas.ted.com/activism-isnt-just-for-adults-and-teens-we-need-to-teach-younger-kids-to-be-activists-too/