Digital activism is usually not violent and tends to work better when social media work together with street-level organizations, according to a new study by the University of Washington.
Findings come from a survey published in 20 by November Digital Activism Research Program run by Philip Howard, professor of communication and information at the University of Washington. The program was launched by Howard in 2012 and applies rigorous empirical social science methods to the study of global digital activism.
"It's the biggest digital activism research ever done," Howard said. "We've looked at about 2.000 cases over a period of 20 years, with a very focused look at the last two years."
Howard and his associates, Frank Edwards and Mary Joyce, two PhD students, supervised 40 students who analyzed and evaluated news from citizens and professional journalists who described events of digital activism around the world. After a year of research and refinement of events, 500 showed well-proven cases representing approximately 150 countries. The survey took a very focused look at the past two years.
Howard said one of their main findings is that digital activism tends to be not violent, despite what some may think.
“We hear in the news that online activism is carried out by anonymous or cyber terrorists hacker which cause it problem and hacking systems," Howard said. “But that's only 2 or 3 percent of all cases. Most cases are on average from people with a moderate political agenda” that does not involve hacking or undercover crime.
What else does the survey show?
Digital activism campaigns tend to be more successful when launched against governments rather than businesses. There have been many activist attempts against Companies, but they do not seem to have achieved what demonstrations aimed at governments have achieved.
Effective digital activism requires social networks, but Twitter alone does not reach, and mobilization on the road is needed.
Governments are still lagging behind in their use and knowledge social media.
Howard said that all of these factors, taken together, “are the magic components , especially when the target is a government. It's a real recipe for success.”
The research leaves unanswered questions that include why there are regional disparities between the use of digital tools, why after the phones are widespread texting is not used and finally whether external political, social or cultural phenomena affect the plans and effectiveness of digital activism.
Funding for this research came from the United States Institute of Peace, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Communication at the University of Washington.
photo: theguardian.com
