Shelby Budzko

ENG 110

Jesse Miller

November 2023

              It is undeniable that technology has changed the way that we operate within society. Within this, it has changed activism. I believe that there are many ways to practice being an advocate and the emergence and development of technology has made it much easier. I would define being an advocate as finding something that you believe in and actively doing your part in changing or supporting it. It can be as simple as signing a petition or going to a meeting, or as involved as being in a protest. There are an incredible number of ways to be an advocate, and technology has only made it easier to access.

 In his essay “Small Change,” Malcom Gladwell highlights the way activism has evolved since the 1960s, in an era where racism was incredibly common and was considered to be normal and acceptable. It was normal for people of color to be turned away from businesses, but Malcom specifically uses the Greensboro lunch counter sit-in as a specific example of activism during this time. The Greensboro lunch counter sit-in was undoubtedly an incredible example of activism, as the brave students involved were putting their lives at risk to send a message of the need for racial equality in America. He compares the Greensboro lunch counter sit-in to the attempts to organize protests in Iran that were planned through the social media app Twitter, claiming that “we seem to have forgotten what activism is” (Gladwell 4). I disagree with Gladwell’s claim, because both cases are examples of activism, just to different degrees. While the Greensboro lunch counter sit-in was incredibly risky, its participants were very brave, and it sent a very clear message of the need for racial equality, that does not mean that other methods of activism are also not useful and viable. Not everybody is going to have access to a protest or sit-in, whether it’s because of location, time, or physical ability, which is where technology can be incredibly helpful. Rather than participating in a protest, people can donate, sign petitions, attend virtual meetings, raise awareness and so much more. Whether you go to a protest or attend a meeting, you are still trying to do your part in making a change, and that’s what activism is. Social media makes activism more accessible to more people, which increases participation and the motivation to make change. Being involved in a meaningful and impactful way is still making a difference, whether it’s done on a large scale or smaller scale. However, technology can deeply alter the things that we prioritize and hold dear. Kevin Kelley, author of “Technophilia” writes about the connection that people in our society have to technology, whether it’s in a positive or negative way. Kelley uses the work of Sherry Turkle, a sociologist at MIT, in his essay. Kelley claims that “we are so eager to love technology that Turkle is worried this love blinds us” and I agree. Technology actively enriches our lives and makes them easier, but it also creates a lot of short-cuts for people. In terms of activism, we are to attached to technology that we feel as though we need to use it in every circumstance. While technology can be used for activism, it seems as though it’s becoming our default. While it is helpful, it’s not always the most useful way to go about making change. Our love and desire to use technology can blind us from the reason we are truly using it. In the case of the Iran protests through Twitter, people thought that they were doing something useful by organizing a protest through technology. However, the protests were ultimately organized by Westerners who weren’t even in Iran. While the people attempting to organize the protests truly meant well, and meant to be activists, the protests never actually happened because the Westerners didn’t even think about the people in Iran who were going to be involved in the protests. They were so blinded by doing the right thing that they ended up not doing anything at all. It’s becoming extremely easy for us to sit behind a screen and convince ourselves that we are helping and making a difference, because technology acts as a barrier between us and the real world. However, it’s important to take a step back and think about how our actions through technology are effecting others, even if we truly mean well.