Dr. Jared Matthew Wright's Participation in XX ISA World Congress of Sociology
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Dr. Jared Matthew Wright participated in the 20th ISA World Congress of Sociology with his abstract titled "Diversity and Inclusion in Data Activism: Frame Resonance and the Barrier of Problem Recognition" on June 27, 2023.
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Abstract
How diverse and inclusive is data activism? The political contention around contemporary issues of digital data and technology (from “net neutrality” to “dataveillance”) may sometimes involve highly complex technical aspects that are difficult for average people to understand, especially those from underprivileged social groups. I propose that the digital divide and the technological knowledge gap create a barrier to problem recognition which can impede how well activists can achieve frame resonance with different segments of society. How, then, have such activists addressed this problem and sought to be more inclusive of those with less technological knowledge? This study comparatively analyzes two similar, yet independent, social movements engaged in data activism: the Digital Rights movement (DR) and the Anonymous hacktivist movement (ANON). Based on qualitatively analyzed observational and archival data, I identify the framing and organizational strategies of each movement. First, I show how the DR’s master frame of “internet freedom” and closed structure appears to indirectly reify socioeconomic inequalities by being only accessible to a large extent by highly privileged social groups. However, I also find that the formally organized DR groups develop specific education and mobilization strategies to directly address the technological knowledge gap and place more emphasis on experts and accreditation. In contrast, ANON’s master frame of “freedom of speech” and open, anarchic structure helps it to be more accessible to diverse groups. Yet, this more informal and decentralized collective largely fails to address the technological knowledge gap and relies more heavily on crowd-sourced and unaccredited “citizen science” which leads to inner conflicts and balkanization. This work extends the literature on social movements, the digital divide, and framing by examining cases of highly advanced data activism at the forefront of global social movements.