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Jacqueline Liu

Mobs are born as word grows by text message - 12 views

started by Jacqueline Liu on 16 Apr 11
  • Jacqueline Liu
    #1 Jacqueline Liu on 16 Apr 11
     
    Flash mobs started as an act of performance and served a reliable carrier of aesthetic values to the masses. Nevertheless, gone are the times when flash mobs and social networking formations served the cultural needs of societies. Pillow fights and group disco routines are no longer relevant; rather, text messaging is used to promote aggression, vandalise property, and assault pedestrians (Urbina, 2010). Urbina (2010) sheds light on the future of flash mobs - small groups of young people that use text messaging and emails to organise for criminal purposes. Their message is neither political nor cultural. All they want is fight, assault, offend, and vandalise.
    The growing frequency of flash mob crimes is a serious trend in big cities (Urbina, 2010). Flash mob crimes raise the questions of class and race, since most teenagers taking part in them are either poor or black (Urbina, 2010). The reasons behind flash mob violence are unclear. Such gatherings are a relatively new form of urban crime in Philadelphia, and how to reduce the incidence of organised crime and juvenile delinquency is an open question. All these articles imply that the flash-mob phenomenon can hardly be limited to cultural considerations. Connectivity as the product of text messaging and e-mail communication can pose a serious threat to peace and stability at the macro-levels.

    Reference

    Urbina, I. (2010). Mobs are born as word grows by text message. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/us/25mobs.html
  • Bianca F
    #2 Bianca F on 17 Apr 11
     
    This article illustrates the way in which flash mobs can become a social issue in today's society.
    Originally designed as a bit of fun to encourage spontaneity, they were never meant to be violent or even political in nature. (Wasik, 2010.)
    Increasingly it seems that online collaboration and mass text messaging or e-mailing has made it easier for groups such as these violent Philadelphia youths to congregate and display anti social or criminal behaviour (Ubrina, 2010).
    There is something comforting in watching some of the flash mob vidoes on You Tube, seeing groups of people collaborate and preform their 'prank' of sorts just for the pure fun of it or entertainment of those around them. The Glee flash mob in Seattle in April 2010 had approximately 1000 people participate. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5PyIVVKoWU). How impressive to have 1000 people collaborate to the extent they have, with choreographed dance moves.
    Although flash mobs can be a positive experiment, simply just for fun such as the Freeze Flash Mob in Sydney in 2008 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be2hJJIu8pM&feature=related) it is sad that of course it is also easy to use these ideas and collaboration methods for negative outcomes and desires. It seems that no matter what, there are people that will instead cause harm.

    References:
    Urbina, I. (2010). Mobs are born as word grows by text message. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/us/25mobs.html

    (2010). Official Seattle Glee Flash Mob Video - Seattle, Westlake.
    Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5PyIVVKoWU

    (2008). Sydney Flash Mob Freeze - Jun 24 2008 - Official Video.
    Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be2hJJIu8pM
  • JoelMo Joel
    #3 JoelMo Joel on 17 Apr 11
     
    This article refers to an event that happened in a specific context. As Wasik said, mobs started as "a kind of playful social experiment", but the concept has been adapted by people depending on their socio-cultural factors. My referenced article from Virag Molnar does well in describing this phenomenon (2010). Even though Flash Mobs are now used for a number of various purposes - fun, art, entertainment, protest, politic, activism, marketing… - I don't think they should be limited to only one of those categories (Benschop, 2005).

    As researchers at the Social Issues Research Centre have stated, Flash Mobs are indeed characterised by and known for their combination of military efficiency, complete anonymity, rapid communication and organisation by Internet (SIRC). But all - real - Flash Mobs lack in their instructions the indication of any purpose (Heaney, 2005). Furthermore, the motivation behind the organisation of a Flash Mob event as well as the decision to become part of it, are "left up to the individual", both who organises it and who participates (SIRC).

    Yet, if Flash Mobs and social networking formations do not always serve the cultural needs of societies, they can be effective indicators of their wellness. I strongly believe, and my research on this topic supports my statement, that it is false to think that this digital art of social coordination and collaboration, emblematic of the age of communication and information, is now only serving the organisation and promotion of violent waves and events as was the case in Philadelphia.

    Clay Shirky, a guru in Internet collaboration studies has demonstrated that several functions of e-mails or social media websites, like the "reply to all", "create group" or "invite" options, can be seen as social features (2008). They are essential to Flash Mobs organisation. But if it is true that the inherent capability of Internet medium is social and group-forming, the orientation of sociability and of groups created through Internet collaboration is driven by the cultural frames of the individual who participate in such interactions.

    References

    Dr. Benschop, A. (2005). "Flash Mob: Happening For Internetters", Sociosite's website. Accessible from http://www.sociosite.org/flashmob.php (accessed 14th April, 2011)

    Heaney, F. (2005). The Short Life of Flash Mobs, Stay Free! Accessible from http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/24/flash-mobs-history.html (accessed on 15th April, 2011)

    Molnar, V. (2010). Reframing Public Space Through Digital Mobilization: Flash Mobs and the Futility(?) of Contemporary Urban Youth Culture.

    Shirky, C. (2008). Talks on "Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations". Accessible from http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/berkmanat10/2008/02/shirky (accessed on 11th April 2011)

    Social Issues Research Centres. Dadaist lunacy or the future of protest? Accessible from http://www.sirc.org/articles/flash_mob.shtml (accessed on 14th april, 2011)
  • Rosanna Candler
    #4 Rosanna Candler on 24 Apr 11
     
    Before encountering this article, I considered flash mobs to be a fun, street-art experience which illustrated the potential of the Internet and text-messaging to accumulate large numbers of strangers into a unison performance. The tongue-in-cheek mass snowball fight in Washington and kitsch Glee advertising came directly to mind- but certainly not aggressive packs of teenagers assaulting pedestrians and vandalising property (Urbina, 2010).

    Although Temple University psychologist Frank Farley believed these dangerous mobs were little more than a "youth fad with a short life" (templecuttingedge, 2010), it is interesting to consider the way the mind changes when part of a 'pack mentality'. "When large numbers congregate with no clear agenda, and bad behaviour is initiated by some, 'social facilitation and 'emotional contagion' helps spread the bad behaviour", Farley assesses. Similar cases are seen in violent gangs, in which the extreme action of one individual quickly escalates into acceptable behaviour of the entire group.

    In 2009, a Moldovan anti-Communist flash mob organiser Natalie Morar was officially charged with "calls for organising and staging mass disturbances" in an attempt to overthrow Government with a 'Twitter Revolution' (Hodge, 2009). In many ways, a flash mob's online organisation, collaboration and physical assembly of a mass of individuals is akin to the way in which Egyptian revolutionaries garnered the initial numbers for the January 25 uprising. The Western world threw their support behind the public movement to overthrow Mubarak- many saw the revolution as the uprising public as 'David' overpowering the 'Goliath' of political oppression- a rhetoric which culminating in U.S President Obama calling for an 'orderly transition' for Egypt (Lendman, 2011).

    Urbina highlights an opposing voice in the recent applause (in the wake of the Egyptian revolution) for online and mobile connectivity. It is essential to recognise that these are merely communication tools; for example, a kitchen knife is only dangerous when put in the wrong hands.


    References:

    Hodge, N. (2009) Activist Charged for Inciting 'Twitter Revolution'. Retrieved 22.4.11 from http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/04/activist-charge/

    Lendman, S. (2011). Egypt's Revolution: Obama Backing Regime Change? Retrieved 20.4.11 from http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2011/02/01/egypts-revolution-obama-backing-regime-change/

    Templecuttingedge, (2010). Flashmobs: The Good and The Bad. Retrieved 20.4.11 from http://templecuttingedge.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/flash-mobs-the-good-and-the-bad/

    Urbina, I. (2010) Mobs are Born as Word Grows by Text Message. Retrieved 22.4.11 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/us/25mobs.html?_r=1

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