Background

The growing utilization and accessibility of social media has shifted the way in which citizens participate in activism, political mobilization and social change. With increasing technological developments in 2020, analyzing the role social media has in online mobilization and politics is crucial in order to create positive political change for the future. Analyzing social media’s role in activism has both theoretical and practical significance, as it allows for a correlation to be drawn between how we use social media and its ability to bring people together digitally, while also reveals the way in which social media plays a role in facilitating mass political movements.

This research project will conduct an analysis of two major global events that social media was heavily involved in. This will allow for an examination of the opportunities and limitations that social media has in creating political change. Analyzing the possible ability social media has in facilitating online mobilization and successful political change is important due to the fact that social media usage continues to become a part of nearly every industry and governmental process. Due to negative outcomes of utilizing social media to mobilize online, social media must be studied in order to ensure the credibility of information access and democratic processes as well.

Lightning Talk

Social media has become a tool for political communication and engagement due to its “ unique engagement model based on the broader social networks of particular sub-populations, transcending geographic boundaries” (Chan & Holosko, 2016, p 682).

Problem/ Questions

Is social media a successful tool in creating online mobilization and political change?

• What role has social media played in global political events such as the Arab Spring and Cambridge Analytica?
• Do students use social media as a tool for activism and online mobilization?

Methods

A Mixed Method Analysis was used in order to come to a conclusion regarding wether or not social media is successful in facilitating political change. While this is a flexible form of research with various aspects involved, I am basing my findings off of a case study analysis, a survey and short interview. While using the Arab Spring and Cambridge Analytica Data scandal as two case studies, I conducted a survey among generation Z students in Toronto on the topic of social media use surrounding online mobilization and social justice issues. Lastly, I conducted a short interview with a digital influencer in order to gain insight on her thoughts on social media’s role in facilitating conversation surrounding social justice oriented issues on Instagram.

Analysis

Case Study Analysis

The Arab Spring Movement reveals that access to social media can assist in facilitating a mass political movement. The Arab Spring movement of the early 2010s led to an overthrown of authoritarian governments in various Arab countries with the help of social media as an online communication tool. Due to the easy ability to reach the masses, hashtags such as #Libya spread throughout the middle east and created “ wide range of practices of political participation among a diverse group of social media users” (Bruns et al, 2013, p 872). By default, this led to action inspired by the accessibility of social media in which “resonated in the various local contexts” in various Arab nations (Wolsfeld et al, 2013, p 118). According to a study in which outlines social media usage during the Arab Spring movement, social media allowed for increased access, connection and gave "increased opportunity to learn more about the good things other countries have achieved within a stable democracy" (Jamali, 2014, p 13). During the Arab Spring, the active use in social media "jeopardizes the tranquility of corrupt rulers" and was used as a tool to increase political awareness of various regimes.

Looking at the 2016 Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal as a case study to weigh the limitations and drawbacks social media offers will allow me to come to a concrete conclusion in terms of wether or not social media is successful in facilitating online mobilization and political change. The Cambridge Analytica data scandal reveals the urgency to hold social media networks accountable for protecting user data privacy and maintaining the flow of factual information. In 2016, "Facebook was able to collect data from as many as 87 million Facebook users without their consent" (Schneble, Elger, & Shaw, 2018). This data was harvested by Cambridge Analytica and used to target undecided voters in the United States 2016 Presidential Election. This assisted in persuading these undecided voters to vote for Donald Trump. According to a study conducted that analyzes Cambridge Analytica's impact on the future of social media and personal data, "internet-mediated research requires much closer ethical oversight" (Schneble et al, 2018). In addition, social media networks must be held accountable and "pay close attention to the sites from where data are collected from" and ensure that users are aware of user privacy in the "Terms and Conditions" section of a given social media network. The use of social media to target undecided voters reveal that social media networks can be used to transform a political event in an unethical and immoral way. This case study reveals evidence that networks must be monitored for unethical interferences and that networks must create further awareness of potential privacy issues.

Survey Results

Below are a variety of interesting findings in regard to a survey surrounding social media use and online mobilization among students at Ryerson University.

77.8% of respondents reported Instagram being their most used social media platform

72.8% of respondents reported they receive their news on social media rather than online or from a news organization

71% of respondents reported they spend 2+ hours on social media daily

86% of respondents said yes when asked if they would be  inclined to follow an influencer that posts about topics such as climate change, gun control, BLM, LGBTQ rights in an engaging and creative

89% of respondents reported that they would be more inclined to follow an influencer campaign with a brand that is centered around a topic such as climate change or another important social justice issue rather than a fashion campaign

Interview Results

A short, virtual interview was conducted with content creator Margaux Zanetti in order to gain insight into one opinion leader's thoughts on wether or not she believes social media is the right place to get her message across to her followers on topics such as sustainable fashion and eco-friendly skin care brands. The following was found from the interview..

As an influencer, do you find that social media is a positive tool for getting your content and message across to your followers?

Yes, I think that social media is a great tool to share my content and messaging to my followers; I mainly use Instagram. I share more curated content through images on my feed and use captions to share relevant information about brands that I'm sharing. Instagram stories are great to share more authentic/real content that can make my audience feel like they know me more. The question and poll tools are also a great way to interact with my audience and share information

For the most part, do you find that your followers engage with the social oriented content you post?

I think that my focus on green beauty and sustainable/ethical fashion has become evident to my followers and I've created a community that is interested in those topics. I've seen this a lot through Instagram story analytics; I try to highlight when a brand is sustainable/ethical/local, and get a lot of taps on the brand's tag.

As someone invested in social issues and creating content surrounding eco-conscious brands and other social initiatives, do you believe social media is an effective tool in inspiring others to become involved in these issues and content themes?

Yes! I think that social platforms are great to highlight brands and initiatives to an audience that has a genuine interest in the topics. It's also great to share information that people genuinely weren't aware of. However, I think that social media and the internet is also a scary place to voice an opinion. I think that sharing an opinion on a social topic does scare certain people because of cancel culture and the expectation of perfection coming from content creators.

Conclusions

1. Findings from the survey suggest that there is a strong correlation between Ryerson University Students and social media engagement surrounding politics and social justice issues. This survey finds that 1) Students at Ryerson University believe that social media can be used as a gateway for engaging with one another on important social justice issues, 2) Ryerson students use social networking platforms to receive news and finally, 3) Social media can act as a gateway to mobilize online. Students at Ryerson University are engaged in these topics and are willing to share and participate in conversation online.

2. The Arab Spring Movement and Cambridge Analytica data scandal both reveal the power social media has when involved in politics and mass political movements. The Arab Spring serves as a positive case study in which social media was used to educate citizens, create connection among society and allowed citizens to mobilize online in an accessible way. On the other hand, Cambridge Analytica serves as a strong example of how social media can create conflict in terms of it's lack of trustworthiness, user privacy and lack of information regulation. This reveals the potential destruction social media can have when involved in a political movement.

3. For opinion leaders and content creators on social media networks with large followings, social media can be used in a successful way to promote socially oriented brands and create conversation surrounding important political opinions as well. While social media can be used to promote these ideologies, content creators worry that voicing their opinion could lead to potential backlash from audiences.

Social media is a successful tool in facilitating online mobilization and can be the bridge that connects citizens to unite for a political movement. However, social media networks must be regulated to ensure ethical behavior due to it's ability to be taken advantage of, while it continues to become involved in higher levels of political events and government. Social media can be used as a gateway to connect people around the world for activism, but cannot be the only resource used to create political change. Aside from social media, scholarly research and factual journalism can assist in leveraging access to factual information to encourage ethical and productive activism.

Researcher Bio

Kellen Gardner is set to graduate in 2020 from Ryerson University in the field of Professional Communications. Kellen has a passion for photography, travel and social media marketing. Kellen has built a personal brand on Instagram and aims to continue to learn about social media marketing. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kellen now resides in Toronto and is eager to have a career in the the digital media industry. Kellen enjoys creating travel and lifestyle content on Instagram. He enjoy’s photographing landscape, coffee and urban scenes while incorporating various brands within his posts. He has collaborated with brands in the past such as Aperol, Hugo Boss and Westjet to promote their products across his channels.

References

Bruns, A., Highfield, T., & Burgess, J. (2013). The arab spring and social media audiences: English and arabic twitter users and their networks. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(7), 871-898. doi:10.1177/0002764213479374

Chan, C., & Holosko, M. J. (2017). The utilization of social media for youth outreach engagement: A case study. Qualitative Social Work, 16(5), 680-697. doi:10.1177/1473325016638917

Jamali, R. (2014). Online arab spring : Social media and fundamental change. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca

Schneble, C. O., Elger, B. S., & Shaw, D. (2018). The cambridge analytica affair and internet-mediated research. Embo Reports, 19(8), n/a. doi:10.15252/embr.201846579

Wolfsfeld, G., Segev, E., & Sheafer, T. (2013). Social media and the arab spring: Politics comes first. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 18(2), 115-137. doi:10.1177/1940161212471716