Internet and Social Movements

As we move through this course and discuss the many ways that the Internet affects our lives, it is becoming more and more transparent just how interconnected my life is with the Internet. In my last blog I spoke about social interaction on the Internet. More specifically, I discussed social networking sites and relationship development. It is clear that one of the strengths of the Internet, and social networking sites for example, is the ability to link and connect people who are spread out geographically. These individuals come together for different periods of time and for many different reasons but the Internet has been the tool that allows for this to happen. Today, I’d like to extend the discussion by taking a look at how the Internet has become a very popular tool for activism.

In the article “International Plug ‘n Play?” Ronald J. Deibert discusses how the latest change to politics has been the rise of citizen networks which “among the many factors responsible for their emergence are new communication technologies and in particular the World Wide Web.” The reach of these citizen networks has been significant as Deibert quotes “…linked through the Internet across state borders, the tentacles of these citizen networks have begun to infiltrate nearly every major international political issue-area, from security to human rights to governance of the global economy.” Just as with every other aspect of our lives in which the Internet is now taking part in, there are both positive and negative views about the role of the Internet and politics. Some of these include the ability to reach many people spread out geographically which in turn allows people to have more power and authority in political affairs. However, this is a benefit only for those people who have access to these technologies (i.e., to ICTs) and this type of activism definitely enhances their ability to participate and to be heard. However, I believe that one of the main drawbacks of activism on the Internet is that it excludes all those (which are many as discussed in readings about the Digital Divide) who don’t have access and will never be able to participate online. Clearly one solution for this is to ensure that activism happens both on and off-line and I think that this happening. Just like with relationship building, I think the Internet is being used to supplement and to enhance political activism but does not stand alone. I think that the Internet activism phenomenon is quite interesting and has yet again illustrated how the Internet is seeping into every aspect of our lives.

Lastly, the author also takes a specific look at the citizen network Anti-MAI and questions weather or not this should be considered a community. He poses the following question “Can such a large group of diverse individuals and activists be considered a “community” in any meaningful sense of the term?” This is the same question we posed about online networking sites. Like we discussed before, I think that it’s very difficult to answer this question conclusively because it depends on how one defines a community. I would say that this specific activist groups’ activities online tend to lean more towards what constitutes a community rather than not. Clearly the individuals who are a part of this group came together for a specific goal and purpose and share a lot of common interests. The author believes that “…what the Internet has done, however, is to allow the existing nationally based organizations to link together with each other and with multinational organizations. The cross-referencing of the groups on the World-Wide Web and the continued vibrancy of the lists, thus suggests something much more than mere coincidental interests of disparate national groups.” I am still quite intrigued by all the different groups that are coming together on the Internet and the vast range of interest and goals they have. Community or note, many of these people share interests and exchange information that until now was not so easily exchangeable. At the click of a button we can learn much more than ever before and for me that is very exciting!