04 ICT as Platform for Change

• ICT is an effective instrument for promoting and spreading relevant advocacies on social change
• Social change is the adjustment in human interactions, which changes the established cultural and social constructs, beliefs, and institutions
• William Fielding Ogburn, a sociologist, published a theory in 1992 suggesting that technology was the primary driving force of social change and progress, but social responses to it weakened it
• Invention - the stage wherein new forms of technology are developed.
• Discovery – refers to new ways of understanding and perceiving reality.
• Diffusion – refers to the spread of technology from the point of discovery to other areas.
• Three (3) stages of technical development, according to Ogburn:

  Invention

  Discovery

  Diffusion
• Social media movements and trends in recent history:

  2019 Hong Kong Protests

  ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

  Black Lives Matter

  Me Too Movement

  Million People March
• The Role of ICT in Philippine History

  EDSA and Cardinal Sin’s call to action via radio broadcast

  EDSA II and the use of text messaging to mobile people

  PhilAWARE application for humanitarian response
• Social media is the best tool for spreading advocacies and causes than other forms of technology
• How social media help promotes social justice:

  Coordinating Community Responses

  Platforming Lived Experience

  Sharing Pictures and Videos
• The terms “slacktivism” and “cancel culture” has also emerged when discussing social media as a platform for change and advocacy. Slacktivism combines “slacker” and “activism,” referring to simple measures to support a social movement online, such as signing petitions and copying and reposting statuses and images. At the same time, Cancel Culture is a divisive idea that can be defined as a way of withdrawing support for public figures or companies over controversial or scandalous acts and can be considered a form of online shaming on social media platforms.