Small Change Summary

Small Change was an article about how activism and revolution has changed in recent years. The article began describing the protests in Greensboro, NC in the 1960s. This type of activism was sparked and grown by word of mouth and local emotional turmoil. Those suffering in the area were joining the fight which then inspired more in other areas of the country. The increase in social media in our society is tremendous as the number of users continue to increase for all forms: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. With the growing amount of users, these social media sites can connect millions of people in seconds, sharing news and information with people across the globe. This being so, social movements and events spread like wildfire, with millions of people actively sharing, liking, and posting about certain issues. Many social movements and causes have grown in number due to social media and the ease of communication. After discussing the old way of protest, the article began describing how this social media has been credited to protests in other countries in recent years. One specific protest in Iran, called the Twitter Revolution, was referenced in the article about activism lead by social media. The article criticized this type of protest and activism and how it really contributes to nothing. The ties we have with people we follow or are friends with on social media are weak ties and have no meaning behind them. Most protests in foreign nations, especially in the Iran case, that are credited to social media should not be. This is due to the fact that the people involved are not a part of western culture and do not even have twitters or facebooks. One journalist wrote how she did not understand why people trying to organize protests in the Iran case were writing in any other language by Farsi. The article states how the protest in Greensboro in the 1960s was a real protest, with the people suffering being the ones at the forefront of organizing the fight. Overall, I agree with the article that social media is getting too much credit for modern protest. Protests that catch fire on social media are generally weak and un-meaningful protests, as the people speaking our most about the cause are generally not the ones suffering, or are far attached from the real issues taking place. The type of activism that took place in history is far more impactful than how modern activism is executed.