The Importance of Weak Ties in Social Activism
https://www.wired.com/2010/09/weak-ties-twitter-and-revolutions/
“Weak Ties, Twitter and Revolution,” an article published by Jonah Lehrer, examines the two contrasting views regarding the effectiveness of weak ties in social activism. Malcolm Gladwell argues in his “Small Change” article that social activism consisting of weak ties leads to high risk activism and that “real” activism should be formed amongst the people you know and trust. Whereas Mark Granovetter argues in his paper “The Strength of Weak Ties” that weak ties are essential in social activism.
Although networks consisting of weak ties may be prone to passive engagement, weak ties are the most beneficial sources for new information and ideas. Studies have shown that more than 80 percent of contacts with helpful information were from the weak ties. Mark Granovetter argues that strong ties inhibit social activism because strong ties tend to “produce fragmentation and cliquishness”. We learned that closely knit groups may be filled with people who are eager to help, but also filled with people from similar background with similar knowledge.
Before learning more about the strength of weak ties, I may have agreed with Gladwell’s view of weak ties in social activism. However, even though personal connections are important in building strength and trust that social media and shallow/distant connections cannot provide, there are limitations. In order for social activism to be successful, it is important to build large number of weak ties with similar goals. This can be done through the use of social media to transfer information to a large number of people or by reaching out to weak ties who can in turn help raise awareness within their circle of group. For instance, platforms such as Facebook can provide a space where people can engage and discuss topics and also share resources. Furthermore, social media is significantly contributing to the Black Lives Matter movement by providing a platform where people can share resources (links to fundraisers and petitions) and informations about the protests taking place etc. Especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, where physical contact is restricted, these forms of communication are extremely effective to reach a mass audience. This form of media communication can act as a motivator for people to participate in the social activism and expose users who were unaware of the movements/actions taking place. In other words, if social activism consists only of people with strong ties, it may be difficult to spread awareness and bring the issue to the surface since the information will likely circulate within a tight knit community.