Fuchs Ch. IV and VIII

Fuchs Ch. IV and VIII

In Chapter IV of Social Media, Fuchs critiques Castells writings on social communication and power struggles both within communication and outside of it. While it can be hard to determine the validity of Fuchs statements due to not having actually read Castells works there seems at least some justification for his arguments against Castells writings not being 'theory' or 'grounded' and Castells overlooking the possibility of a violence free society. While these seem to be valid arguments I would still like to read Castells work before forming a solid opinion as authors and theorists can sometimes use exaggeration to further emphasize their point. A couple examples that come to mind are Plato's Republic in which he argues that all imitative poetry is bad and in Luce Irigaray's work, particularly This Sex Which is Not One in which she argues that women are superior to men. Both of these works utilize exaggeration to show the flaws in their thinking and to shed light into the greater issues they wish to discuss.

One argument of Fuchs which I found particularly fruitless was his argument against Castells assertion that modern technology has fueled many social movements. According to Fuchs interpretation of Castells the internet, phones, and the like were and are decisive tools of modern social reform. Fuchs argued back that Castells was putting too much emphasis on technology and that technology was not an 'actor' that helped social movements and that it is an inert thing that cannot act of its own volition and is rather a product of human utilization. Castells and Fuchs seem to be arguing past one another here, instead of at each other. From what I understand Castells is not saying that the internet or technology created the social reforms but rather that the technology furthered the cause by spreading awareness and by helping coordinate those who wanted change. Castells is not saying the internet created these movements. No one believes the internet or technology in and of itself created any of the social movements of 2011 or any other time, as everyone understands that it is humans behind computers and cell phones who are making the changes. Castells is arguing that technology aided the movements giving them the power they needed and would not have had without technology. By arguing against technology as the creator of change and reform Fuchs is creating a straw man and drawing people away from Castells original point that technology can facilitate change and into absurdity where Castells is somehow personifying technology and giving it human qualities.

In truth, a better argument against Castells would have been to question just how much technology helped the movements of 2011. There have been many revolutions, social walks, parades, movements and the like throughout history, many of them performed and organized without the use of the internet or modern technology. By insisting that technology was deterministic in our modern movements Castells is making an argument that is simply unsubstantiated. While technology may have widened the scope of the movement, or brought it better coverage there is simply no way to determine if technology was a catalyst or determining factor for these social movements (unless further evidence is brought up). By arguing against the actual claims of Castells instead of creating a straw man Fuchs would create a better argument and further validate his claims while still showing how the internet has not been as helpful to social movements as Castells believes.

In Chapter VIII Fuchs better addresses these issues when he acknowledges that Twitter could have raised a wider global realization but that there is no evidence that it caused the revolution. He further questions technology by exposing how Twitter is primarily used by young to middle aged, white, middle class Americans. By showing just how biased social media avenues like Twitter can be Fuchs if further questioning just how useful such social media sites are as they are not truly a representation of the people who are oppressed or in need of social change but rather a large collection of 'slactivists' who only post information to feel as if they are doing something good. Fuchs arguments against Twitter are more of what I would like to see in his arguments against Castells where he provides evidence that shows just how ineffective social media and technology can be in bringing about change.