The Social Media Bandwagon

I recently read an interesting article about how different technologies have affected the dynamics of mobs, in particular social media platforms. I will admit that editor of Wired Magazine and author Bill Wasik makes a strong case for the effectiveness of Facebook, Twitter and BBM in organizing mob action, but whether or not this is a positive effect for digital activism is a different story. After reading his article #Riot, I consider Social Media tools to be more of a double-edged sword. Yes, they can be used to prompt activism, but sometimes for the wrong reasons. Even worse, social media has the power to influence mass amounts of people through popularity alone, without providing enough information on the issues at play.

Wasik uses several case studies to demonstrate how social media and instant messaging applications have transformed the way mobs gather, how they think, and how they act. In particular, “flash mobs” of instantaneous and spontaneous nature are made possible by these new ways of communication. To explain this, Wasik first discusses the recent riots in Enfield, England. Several stores were looted by a mob of a few hundred, in retaliation to a video and photos of police brutality. What was unique about this mob was its ability to adapt on the fly. When law enforcement officials seemingly contained the rioters, they were able to quickly find new exits. After dispersing at one point, they were able to reorganize again with the same force in a new area of town hours later. Wasik attributes this adaptability to the quick and instant spread of information between the mob (both in text and visual media form) made possible in this case by Blackberry Messenger (BBM).

My concern here is how information can be taken out of context when received through social media. It can also be distorted to promote an opinion or movement that is easy to for others to get behind. Whatever action law enforcement was taking in this photo could have been completely warranted. Someone was quick to cry “brutality”, and immediately sent it to ten of their friends with the subject line “Let’s Kick Some Arse and Loot The Grocery”. My guess is they all jumped on board the mob train without giving it a second thought, and forwarded the message on to ten more of their friends. This is known as the bandwagon effect; willingness to join the group is proportional to the numbers who have already done so.

This reminds me of the recent SOPA and PIPA protests circulating around Facebook. Everyone was asking (demanding) their friends to sign the petition against the bills, which many agreeably did. But how many of these people actually took the time to read the petition, or to read the bills for that matter? How many actually knew what they were signing? Not enough. But if you’re three best friends signed it, hey, why not right?

My point is that social media has qualities that promote a “follower’s” mindset. It’s fast, it’s easy, and everyone’s using it. It’s almost like a drug. Remember that day in high school when your buddy first peer-pressured you into smoking weed? That was most likely harmless – this is not:

The immediate nature of texts, tweets and posts often prevent us from ever digging deeper into the issues behind them, and making our own informed opinions. We follow what’s trending. We “like” what’s popular. As with the English mobs, it can be useful to step back, and not take immediate action when someone pings you with a “Join Now” text. Do yourself a favor, and think before you act the next time you click.