According to the “expert” Malcom Gladwell, the answer would be no. I would have to strongly disagree with that, and yes definitely. In fact, I believe it already has. The facts in the module prove that there has been significant social change.
Ashton Kutcher was able to help Malaria No More; a cause to help malaria provided 10,000 mosquito nets. That to me is a social change, and that’s only a single person making that change.
Let’s talk about Flash Mobs for a minute. According to Mr. Gladwell, real social media change can never come from loose networks of people that don’t know each other. Again, I would have to disagree with that.
Flash Mobs for example have made a huge difference in the lives of others. One instance of that would be the donation of more than 400 pairs of shoes to local organizations to anyone in need (http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=527887). Social change can in fact be done by people that don’t know each other.
I have experienced it first-hand doing a collective event for a local Community Centre. Two years ago, in July 2010 I was asked through facebook by an old friend to help with a community event. This event was the collaboration of several Community Centres in which did not know each other. It was a weekend event for families to enjoy together which didn’t happen very often in my old community. I lived in this project community most of my life, I knew that the community had never seen anyone do something of that nature before, so I was excited to help with it. The event was successful, so successful that it still puts a smile on peoples face when they think about it. Without social media, this event would not have been possible.
Social change doesn’t have to be on a global scale. Sometimes, it’s as small as changing how a small local community feels about where they live, and brightening the hearts of those that are in despair. Is all of this evidence not social change? If a parent changed the life of their child through facebook because they could not be with them, there had been social change through social meda. It only takes a single person in my opinion to make social change. So yes, I do believe social media is able to make social change.
Ashton Kutcher was able to help Malaria No More; a cause to help malaria provided 10,000 mosquito nets. That to me is a social change, and that’s only a single person making that change.
Let’s talk about Flash Mobs for a minute. According to Mr. Gladwell, real social media change can never come from loose networks of people that don’t know each other. Again, I would have to disagree with that.
Flash Mobs for example have made a huge difference in the lives of others. One instance of that would be the donation of more than 400 pairs of shoes to local organizations to anyone in need (http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=527887). Social change can in fact be done by people that don’t know each other.
I have experienced it first-hand doing a collective event for a local Community Centre. Two years ago, in July 2010 I was asked through facebook by an old friend to help with a community event. This event was the collaboration of several Community Centres in which did not know each other. It was a weekend event for families to enjoy together which didn’t happen very often in my old community. I lived in this project community most of my life, I knew that the community had never seen anyone do something of that nature before, so I was excited to help with it. The event was successful, so successful that it still puts a smile on peoples face when they think about it. Without social media, this event would not have been possible.
Social change doesn’t have to be on a global scale. Sometimes, it’s as small as changing how a small local community feels about where they live, and brightening the hearts of those that are in despair. Is all of this evidence not social change? If a parent changed the life of their child through facebook because they could not be with them, there had been social change through social meda. It only takes a single person in my opinion to make social change. So yes, I do believe social media is able to make social change.
