Malcolm Gladwell Small Change Analysis
Many are saying that social media is the new platform for large-scale change. Campaigns are turning towards social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to gain support for their causes. Not only are companies and larger organizations using social networking sites (SNS) to promote change, but also everyday citizens are sharing their personal stories to motivate people to take action. But, is social media actually a strong platform for activism? Author Malcolm Gladwell, doesn’t think so. In Gladwell’s paper Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not be Tweeted, he argues that social media does not result in large-scale change. Instead of promoting change social media promotes participation (Gladwell, 2015). Many other writers agree,
…show more content…
Gladwell uses the example of four African American college students that started a sit-in in 1960 to protest segregation. He uses this example to show that social media doesn’t accomplish the same affect, that traditional methods of activism does. His definition of activism, is based on the idea that a high degree of risk is associated with it, and that it contributes to a large scale change. He also focuses on examples of activism that is more political, suggesting that he is ignoring the more social nature activism can take. The issue with Gladwell’s argument is that his definition of activism is flawed. While Lim’s definition of activism is more realistic, it is also flawed. Her idea of activism is too broad, and encompasses actions of awareness, and support as …show more content…
This campaign asks users of social media to make posts on various SNS with positive messages about mental health and illness, and use the hashtag #bellletstalk. The goal of this campaign is to end the stigma surrounding mental health. The campaign is looking to change people’s attitude towards mental illness. This campaign increases awareness, and creates change simultaneously. The change Bell is trying to create is harder to recognize because they are not lobbying for change against a policy or government organization. This is an example of a way that a campaign can be more social nature. This campaign is also a good example of campaign that meets all the criteria for the definition of activism, and is successful repeatedly on social
Gladwell uses the example of four African American college students that started a sit-in in 1960 to protest segregation. He uses this example to show that social media doesn’t accomplish the same affect, that traditional methods of activism does. His definition of activism, is based on the idea that a high degree of risk is associated with it, and that it contributes to a large scale change. He also focuses on examples of activism that is more political, suggesting that he is ignoring the more social nature activism can take. The issue with Gladwell’s argument is that his definition of activism is flawed. While Lim’s definition of activism is more realistic, it is also flawed. Her idea of activism is too broad, and encompasses actions of awareness, and support as …show more content…
This campaign asks users of social media to make posts on various SNS with positive messages about mental health and illness, and use the hashtag #bellletstalk. The goal of this campaign is to end the stigma surrounding mental health. The campaign is looking to change people’s attitude towards mental illness. This campaign increases awareness, and creates change simultaneously. The change Bell is trying to create is harder to recognize because they are not lobbying for change against a policy or government organization. This is an example of a way that a campaign can be more social nature. This campaign is also a good example of campaign that meets all the criteria for the definition of activism, and is successful repeatedly on social