The internet is an indescribably powerful tool, however, its endless facets, as well as its endless users, can easily become imbalanced. When balance is achieved with users and content online and when balance is achieved between the virtual world and the real world, the internet’s capabilities for grassroots activism for political, social, and cultural change are astronomical. The interactive and collaborative nature of Web 2.0 has made passive media consumption a practice of the past and has allowed people to discover truth and more importantly to unite and fight for a better world, from local fundraising to environmental awareness to the Arab Spring. Web 2.0 has undoubtedly empowered our generation but like anything else, it has its pitfalls. So how do we harness this power and use it for the greater good? This ever evolving, fast-paced, participatory platform may be too young for predictions and too new for strategy but I believe, above all else, that balance is the base of success.
Clay Shirky, expert on social effects of technology, suggests that “cognitive surplus,” the resource of digital technology plus human generosity, can change the world. On a fundamental level, Shirky suggests that the benefits of Web 2.0 lie in the ability to both consume and create, a balance that has revolutionized media. When people are provided the opportunity to create as much as they consume, they are not only personally empowered, but a truer view of societal priorities emerge. Although Shirky is primarily driven by projects like “Ushahidi,” the construction of a non-profit software company that develops free software for information collection and interactive mapping, he emphasizes the importance too of “Lolcats,” the creation and sharing of photographs of cats with ridiculous captions. Although Lolcats has little impact on social matters, its presence benefits the balance of online content and the freedom to create Lolcats represents the freedom to use the participatory web for whatever cause is collectively deemed important, allowing for a more honest portrayal of society. This may seem like an exaggeration but the idea is that Ushahidi could not exist without Lolcats, because without the honest portrayal of what is important to a community, we would not know where to begin with our efforts to better the world.
In Revolution 2.0, Wael Ghonim, Google employee and political activist, stresses the importance of balancing activity in the virtual world with action out in the real world. Ghonim’s involvement in the Egyptian Revolution was centered around his internet expertise and, because of the nature of the political environment in Egypt, the internet provided a safe haven for rallying support. Social networks allowed mass collaboration and coordination of both ideas and civic action, but although the revolution was begun online, the people only succeeded in overthrowing the Mubarak regime with their action and presence on the streets. The Egyptian Revolution is a prime example of what can be accomplished with a balance between the virtual world and the physical world and by using the two worlds collaboratively to facilitate change and fight for freedom.
The imbalance of people’s time and activity online and offline can be detrimental not only to the success of grassroots activism but to the individual as well. Nicholas Carr, in The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, warns us of the negative effects of online activity on a personal, physiological level. He explains that the fast-paced actions of searching the web and navigating content online changes our brains’ hardwiring and makes us less capable of deep, reflective thinking. Because we are accustomed to having the internet with its wealth of information at our fingertips, we also are becoming less reliant on our own knowledge, our own memory and creative thought. Carr states in his prologue that “[the internet] is so much our servant that it would seem churlish to notice that it is also our master” (The Shallows, p.4). Carr does not however suggest that we quit using the internet, but instead suggests none other than close attentiveness and the balance of media consumption. Primarily, to counteract the “skimming” of information online, he advises we acknowledge the importance of print and “dive deep” into reading books. To use the internet to its greatest potential, we must discipline ourselves to a healthy media diet with an emphasis on deep thinking. We then can supplement the web of information with our creations of that deep thought. Most importantly for social change, we must not succumb to the heartless hardwiring of technology and remain human.
In studying how media affects the brain in class, we have acknowledged that different types of input trigger different areas of the brain and so to apply the internet’s capabilities and to achieve the greatest effect on consumers, creators and producers of online media should strive for balancing as many types of input as possible and converging them onto one platform. To trigger the reptilian or instinctual brain, the limbic or emotional brain, and the neocortex or thinking brain simultaneously, online media should be multimedia and involve images, sounds, music, words and interactive hyperlinks. Honing the skills necessary for converging these media is crucial in reaching people on a deep and lasting level and is crucial for grassroots activism.
Because Web 2.0 is interactive and users are not only consumers, but creative producers as well, there exists a greater balance of media literacy than in the passive media of the past. However, media literacy is a great concern when navigating the overflow of information online and it is important that, when we are acting as internet consumers, we digest and engage with the information analytically. To exercise the power of the internet for the greater good, those of us who are less technologically inclined need a foundational knowledge of common persuasion techniques to counteract the often illusory effects of tech savvy media production. We need to be aware of reality construction, production techniques and ownership of what we consume. With more awareness and critical consumption, we can begin to find balance between producers and consumers, we can begin to work toward a truer media with a truer message, and ultimately if we each take responsibility and empower ourselves with media literacy we can communicate and collaborate in a more democratized manner, worldwide.
Because internet usage is so widespread and because it crosses racial, cultural, social and geographic borders, those of us who are connected can easily take our access for granted and forget that so much of the world is disconnected. Not only do governments block sites and deny access, many people, yes even people here in the United States, have limited or no access to the world wide web because they simply do not have the resources or cannot afford it. This freedom of information and communication is not necessarily free and the digital divide is perhaps the greatest imbalance and greatest shortcoming of the internet as it exists today. The greater the survey, the more accurate the results and as long as members of societies live without access to the internet, we can expect nothing but an imbalanced view of the world here in our virtual world. If grassroots activists strive for greater good, they will somehow, someway extend the internet’s reach to the ends of the earth.
So if we can successfully work toward balancing the many facets of the virtual world and balancing the virtual world with the real world, the internet will undoubtedly become more and more powerful with time. With the rapid growth of Web 2.0 possibilities seem endless and only time will tell which direction technology will go and how that affects the world on a political and social scale. Although at this point endless implications arise with online grassroots activism, the prospects for a freer world because of Web 2.0 are bright. I trust that as the internet grows older, it will grow wiser, and that as we discover pitfalls and imbalances through failure, we will learn to succeed in utilizing this powerful tool, the tool of our generation, to better the world in which we live.
