CYBERACTIVISM: A GENERATIONAL COMPARISON OF

DIGITAL ACTIVISM

A thesis defense by Ashley Noel Hennefer

TERMS TO KNOW

o Cyberactivism: Activism that occurs or is facilitate by the internet and/or digital technologies (Amin, 2010)

o Digital natives: People exposed and immersed in technology from a young age (Prensky, 2001)

o Digital immigrants: People exposed to technology at older ages (Prensky, 2001)

o Social media: Websites that facilitate social interaction across geographical boundaries (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit) (Christensen, 2011)

SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY DURING POLITICAL MOVEMENTS

SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY DURING POLITICAL MOVEMENTS

o Used to coordinate in-person protests and meet-ups

o Mimicked many in-person procedures: general assemblies, meetings, strategy planning

o Livestreams, Tweets, Facebook events became outlets for citizen-driven news

DIGITAL LITERACIES

o Ability to use technology and apply traditional literacy skills – reading, writing, critical thinking (Bawden, 2001)

o Adaptation to multiple platforms – mobile and stationary devices, various websites, software, and social networking (Howard & Duffy, 2011)

o Distributed intelligence: “a complex, adaptive learning system that can be sustainable in the face of unpredictable futures” (Innes & Booher, 2010) Social networking uses distributed intelligence—taps into unique skills offered by members of the same community (Fisher & Konomi, 2007)

DIGITAL NATIVES AND DIGITAL IMMIGRANTSo Terms coined by Prensky (2001)

o Digital natives: People immersed in technology from a young age; a familiar skill (Prensky, 2001)

o Digital immigrants: People who use technology later in life; a learned skill (Prensky, 2001)

o Digital natives are avid users of social media and mobile devices (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008)

CRITICISMS OF DIGITAL NATIVESo A Western construct; assumes that youth has access to technology o Assumes characteristics of a generationo Words “natives” and “immigrants” has racial implications

CYBERACTIVISM

o Technology-based activism; activism that takes place on the web or using internet/digital technologies (Amin, 2010; Rotman et al., 2011)

o Activist literacy: Requires skills of activism as well as digital literacies

o Instruments of cyberactivism include social networking, forums

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

o To examine any trends in web-based outlets and habits associated with digital nativeso To have some context for how cyberactivism is conductedoTo determine if age plays a role in cyberactivism

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

o How do digital natives use web-based resources to participate in political movements?o What are the habitual differences between digital natives and digital immigrants  in the use of web-based resources to participate in political movements and discussion?

DESIGN & ANALYSIS

o Quantitativeo Survey instrument o Analyzed with Chi square, crosstabulated by age groupso Responses were coded based on literature review; focused on active vs. passive actions, differences between digital natives and digital immigrants

PARTICIPANTS

o Distributed through social networking: Facebook, Twitter and Reddit

o Use of hashtags on Twitter: #Cyberactivism, #occupywallstreet, #arabspring, #occupygezi (Turkey protests were occurring at the time of distribution)

o Snowball effect gained responses

o Distributed to students in Northern California for additional responses

LIMITATIONS

o Snowball effect meant an open sample population

o A mix of qualitative/quantitative questions in survey

o A Likert scale would have provided more consistent responses

RESULTS: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Age of first computer usage

Age of participants (blue = DI, green = DN)

RESULTS: DEMOGRAPHICS, CONT.

Age of first web use

Digital natives more likely to use the internet at younger ages

RESULTS: IDENTIFICATION AS ACTIVIST

Both digital natives and digital immigrants identified as activists occasionally

RESULTS: ONLINE PETITIONS

Both digital natives and digital immigrants signed or created online petitions; DNs more so, but only marginally

RESULTS: DEVICE PREFERENCES

Digital natives favored mobile devices, digital immigrants favored stationary devices

Relationship between age and device preference

RESULTS: PASSIVE VS. ACTIVE

Relationship between age and preference for passive activism; digital natives more likely to be passive

RESULTS: FORUM DISCUSSION

Digital natives more active than digital immigrants when discussing politics on web forms

RESULTS: ACCESSING NEWS

Both digital natives and digital immigrants used the web to access news

RESULTS: RESEARCH PROCESS

Both digital natives and digital immigrants used the web as the first step when researching a political cause

DISCUSSION

o Digital natives used computers and the internet at younger ages than digital immigrants (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008; Prensky, 2001)

o Digital natives preferred mobile devices over stationary; are more social and mobile (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008)

o Digital natives exhibited passive activism more so than digital immigrants (Rotman et al., 2011)

o Internet plays a role for both digital natives and digital immigrants: both used web for news access, online petitions and research (Sivitanides & Marcos, 2011; Valenzuela, 2013)

IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCHo Exploring characteristics of specific groups of activists: environmental activists, internet freedom activists, human rights activists

o The role of education within cyberactivism

o The role of gender within cyberactivism

oDetermining if passive/active habits are true of digital natives and digital immigrants

REFERENCESAmin, R. (2010). The empire strikes back: Socialmedia uprisings and the future of cyberactivism.

Kennedy School Review, 64–66.

Bawden, D. (2001). Information and digital literacies: areview of concepts. Journal of

Documentation, 57(2), 218–259.

Christensen, C. (2011). Twitter revolutions? Addressingsocial media and dissent. The

Communication Review, 14(3), 155–157.

Innes, J., & Booher, D. (2010). Indicators for sustainablecommunities: a strategy building on

complexity theory and distributed intelligence.Planning Theory & Practice,1(2), 173-186.

Palfrey, J., & Gasser, U. (2008). Born digital:Understanding the first generation of digital natives. New York: Basic Books.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrantspart 1. (R. K. Belew & M. D. Vose, Eds.) Onthe Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. MCB UP Ltd.

Rotman, D., Vieweg, S., Yardi, S., Chi, E., Preece, J.,Shneiderman, B, Pirolli, P., & Glaisyer, T.

(2011). From slacktivism to activism: participatory culture in the age of social media. Paper presented at the annual CHI (Computer-Human Interaction) Conference in Vancouver, Canada. Abstract retrieved from http://yardi.people.si.umich.edu/pub/YardCHI11_SIG.pdf .

Sivitanides, M., & Marcos, S. (2011). The era ofdigital activism. Conference for InformationSystems Applied Research (pp. 1–8).

Valenzuela, S. (2013). Unpacking the use ofsocial media for protest behavior: the roles of information, opinion expression, and activism. American Behavioral Scientist,57(7), 920-942.