BP #5

The 2011 uprising in London was not so widespread that it reached me or any of my connections across my social media platforms. The riots were in response to the shooting of a young black man in London by police. The young people who responded to this killing communicated mainly through Blackberry Messenger. According to reports around one third of the protesters were using Blackberry devices and the interface was relatively secure when it came to the ability of authorities to access it. Mark Duggan, the victim of this apparent hate crime, was commemorated by the protesters and youth community through a Facebook page that communicated his friends and acquaintances of posting parting messages and updates on the legal standing of the case against the police. The Facebook page does not in fact encourage rioting or violence of any kind, but instead pushes people to use their words to spread awareness and seek justice to prevent the event from occurring again. The social media platform of BBM aided mobilization and action/reaction and the Facebook group spread awareness as it is accessible by the public. Their choice of media interface did prove successful as their mode of communication was cheap, as people already had the device, quick, widespread and secure against authority. In terms of the development of the trial itself, the riots gained media coverage and public attention but I don’t believe it swayed a judge one way or another to discipline the police involved, but then again this inference is based on what I could not find reports on.

This social uprising presents the barrier encountered through communication. Although they were able to use BBM to ensure security, that two thirds of the population that did not own a Blackberry device was excluded from the updates regarding the riots. If the communication method chosen were Facebook then there would be no security but it would reach more people. There are drawbacks to both methods. This uprising brings attention to the abuse of power that apparently remains rampant within authority figures such as police officers. Just because someone holds a position of power does not mean that that power should not be questioned. 

This protest holds a cultural significance in that it proves that the youth community of London does not take abuse and their community is strong enough to fight back. Socially it proves that London teens have the means of communication to come together and switch from conversation in an imagined community to action in the real world. 

Social media has definitely enhanced the advocacy and activism community and I believe that is more important than the occasional dark side of this immediate communication in it’s use for negative purposes. People who use a public forum for communication should know the consequences as the law does extend past verbal and physical violations. A message of intent can be just as powerful as the act itself. Those who choose to use social media and ICT’s need to recognize this and realize there are other modes of communication and other ways to convey an idea to a large group of people. That being said I don’t believe governments should constantly be monitoring media platforms as there needs to be some kind of freedom of speech. It is a tricky line that the government can play between allowing enough privacy and enforcing a safe environment for the general public. Ultimately I believe that if the government could monitor only the most viewed or the groups with the most members because it is them that really have the ability to make an impact on society. This monitoring system should not be to stop marches or protests but to prevent the unnecessary harming of the public. 

Social media is undoubtably a tool for change. Social media is the way people in modern times educate themselves on all topics including movements, charities and advocacy groups. Discounting it as a tool would be like thinking that a shovel is unnecessary for gardening, I mean we have hands right? Without social media, people lose a major communicative network, but what is important to look at is how do we take a step past the social media? The communication between people is only half the battle, then what comes of all the funds raised, and what impact has it had on political or social order.