Activism and Protest
Activism is defined as the use of direct and noticeable action to achieve a result, usually a political or social one. (Cambridge Dictionary 2020). On the contrary, Cambridge Dictionary defines protest as a strong complaint expressing disagreement, disapproval, or opposition.
The influence social media has in activism and protest.
People often portrays social media as a new ground for political and social activism. Although it is relatively easy to just create a social movement on Twitter or Facebook, translating that into actual policy change is very different and challenging. Ever since the involvement of social media for social movement, it has been more effective compared to the era before internet involvement. An effective protest requires not just the right of the people to gather, but accessible public paced in which gathering is possible and citizen who understand what those rights are. (Mahlchik 2019).
Take for example, in June 2019, Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum was rattled by a violent government crackdown on pro-democracy protests. Security forces killed and wounded hundreds of activists and protestors, most notably in the invasion of a protest camp. Mohamad Mattar, a 26-year-old activist was reportedly shot and killed while trying to protect two women during the violence. (Sudan Pro-Democracy Groups Vow to Continue Protests after Deadly Crackdown 2019). So, in a wave of online solidarity, global social media was draped in his favourite colour, blue. Besides that, activists and layfolk alike shared infographics about the unfolding events and plastered the hashtag #BlueforSudan on stories and posts on their social media such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, to show their support for the people in Sudan.
In Sudan and other developing global regions, social media has provided an infrastructure for organizing, meeting and protesting that would otherwise be impaired by feasibility or government intervention. Social media activism is a way of including the voices that cannot be physically protest. Social media is also a sphere interaction that strengthens democratic attitudes and increase democratic sentiment. #BlueforSudan is a clear example of social media facilitating human healing and emotional solidarity in a larger way. #BlueforSudan started off as a symbolic thing which eventually became a symbol of revolution. (Mahajan 2020).
Digital technology has opened up unimaginable worlds of access and connectivity. (Malchik 2019). Social media could help bring visibility to issues that might otherwise never reach over the border of their own country alone. Thus, social media can dramatically cause a huge influence in activism and protest when it is used in the right way.
List of reference
Cambridge Dictionary 2020, viewed on 25 April 2020, <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/activism>.
Cambridge Dictionary 2020, viewed on 25 April 2020, <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/protest>.
Mahajan, S 2020, Online Fever: The Subversive Social Media Activism Movement, Harvard Political Review, viewed on 25 April 2020, <https://harvardpolitics.com/world/social-media-activism/>.
Malchik, A 2019, The Problem With Social-Media Protests, The Atlantic, viewed on 25 April 2020, <https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/05/in-person-protests-stronger-online-activism-a-walking-life/578905/>.
Sudan Pro-Democracy Groups Vow to Continue Protests after Deadly Crackdown 2019, The New York Times, viewed on 25 April 2020, <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/world/africa/sudan-protests-military-crackdown.html>.















