Blog Prompt: Changing the World One Click at a Time?

In class this week, we spent a lot of time discussing the debate over just how useful social media is for social activism and activists. While critics like Malcom Gladwell acknowledge that social media is a useful tool for forging and maintaining "weak connections" and disseminating information among large numbers of people, they contend it is not particularly useful for the sort of activism that is needed to produce meaningful social and political change. Yet recent events-- the rise of Black Lives Matter, the Women's March on Washington-- suggest that online connections can mobilize people to take to the streets in huge numbers and can move people who have never engaged in activism or politics to get involved. What do you think about the role played by social media in contemporary social movements and activism?