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The Social and Political Power of Flash Mobs

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The Social and Political Power of Flash Mobs The Social and Political Power of Flash Mobs: Discerning the Difference between Flash Mobs and Protests In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Humanities By Annabelle Lee Haston At Tiffin University Tiffin, OH February 20, 2013 Thesis Director: Vincent Moore, Ph.D. Reader: Jan Samoriski, Ph.D. Copyright © Annabelle Lee Haston, 2013. All rights reserved. Abstract The use of technology drives the evolution of society and society drives the evolution of technology in a symbiotic system. Underlying fundamental motives, including expressing, confirming, and augmenting a sense of self, strikingly adapt to these rapid evolutionary changes in culture. Seemingly continuous communication between large masses of individuals has become of increasingly high importance, and the enormous amount of mobile social networking technology certainly keeps the plethora of communication fluid and dynamic. A closer look at the potential social and political power of flash mobs in today’s fast paced technological society is warranted because the mob mentality component of flash mobs has the feasibility to become highly dangerous very quickly. This research will explore the idea of whether or not flash mobs have any true constructive or destructive social or political power, in particular in terms of altering the outcome of social and or political protest, or if a flash mob is merely an entertaining form of performance art. In either case, flash mobs have become a widespread sociological factor that seems to permeate every facet of society and therefore should perhaps be examined as an essential part of popular culture. Haston ii Acknowledgments The author wishes to thank Dr. Vincent Moore and Dr. Jan Samoriski for their special assistance in the preparation of this manuscript, two brilliant minds that helped progress the concept for this thesis into reality. Haston iii Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my mother Kay and my best friend Dan. My mother’s constant encouragement fueled me on this journey. I love you. My best friend comforted me in times of need, talked with me through rough spots, and reminded me I was not alone during the low points. I love you, too. Also, special thanks goes to caffeine in its many forms, mostly coffee and chocolate. Without it, this thesis might not have been possible. Haston iv Table of Contents Abstract ……………………………………………………………………….…………...….…. Acknowledgments……………………………………………………...…………………..…….ii Dedication……………………………………………………………………………...…………iii Table of Contents ………………………………………………………….……………….….....iv Chapter 1 Introduction …………………..……………………………………..…………………1 Chapter 2 Mob Mentality, Protests, and Flash Mobs………….......................................................6 Chapter 3 History ..........................................................................................................................21 Chapter 4 Co-Opting of Flash Mobs…………………………………………….……………….25 Chapter 5 Conclusion/Analysis……………………………………………………….…….…....35 References ……….………………………..………………………………….…………….…....39 Haston 1 Chapter 1 Introduction Social networking in various forms, such as text messaging and tweeting, has become heavily ingrained in today’s technological society. Many people from disparate socio-economic backgrounds have come to include in their daily routines checking friend’s statuses on Facebook and tweets on Twitter. It is not uncommon for these individuals to post their thoughts on social networks while the event they are participating in is still in progress. One might view people texting, talking on their phone, or surfing the web on their smart phone or other mobile device while casually strolling down the street, going to or coming from work, using mass transit, and certainly while waiting in line with nothing else to do. Social networking has become so commonplace that laws hoping to counteract possible automobile accidents caused by the distraction of talking on the phone and text messaging while driving have been enacted by various communities. Along with providing an increase in convenience in several areas of everyday life, mobile social networking has also given today’s society potentially great and dangerous social and political power. The use of technology drives the evolution of society and society drives the evolution of technology in a symbiotic system. Underlying fundamental motives, including expressing, confirming, and augmenting a sense of self, strikingly adapt to these rapid evolutionary changes in culture. Seemingly continuous communication between large masses of individuals has become of increasingly high importance, and the enormous amount of mobile social networking technology certainly keeps the plethora of communication fluid and dynamic. Massive instantaneous social networking satisfies a human need for constantly and continually confirming a sense of self through others. However, articles published in peer review Haston 2 journals have stated a belief that online communication in itself (including mobile networking) does not appear to be able to completely satisfy an individual’s need for confirmation of their personhood due to the lowering of self-esteem through lack of personal contact (Kim & Davis, 2009, pp. 490-500). The much needed fundamental sense of purpose and meaning that an individual is seeking seems to be unable to be fulfilled until more visceral personable interaction takes place. Flash mobs have an inherent mob mentality component that appeals to this need for personable interaction. Flash mob events serve as a form of deindividuation via group interaction, allowing the individual to greatly augment their sense of meaning and identity through the powerful angst-free ego of a group’s identity. A closer look at the potential social and political power of flash mobs in today’s fast paced technological society is warranted because the mob mentality component of flash mobs has the feasibility to become highly dangerous very quickly. This research will explore the idea of whether or not flash mobs have any true constructive or destructive social or political power, in particular in terms of altering the outcome of social and or political protest, or if a flash mob is merely an entertaining form of performance art. In either case, flash mobs have become a widespread sociological factor that seems to permeate every facet of society and therefore should perhaps be examined as an essential part of popular culture. An explanation of mob mentality, protests, and flash mobs in detail, using social theories, historical information, and current media sources should help define the various discerning characteristics and intentions of all too often confused nomenclature. In today’s world of instant communication and instant gratification, flash mobs serve the role in society of compelling people to congregate largely to obtain an instant though limited sense of fulfillment. Flash mobs grant power to the individual by breaking the individual’s common fear of human rejection by absorbing the individual’s identity into the Haston 3 group whose identity is already confirmed and has no need of confirmation outside of itself or by others. Beyond this fundamental power of automatic self-confirmed sense of identity, flash mobs are insufficient in that they lack a long-term goal to cause semi-permanent or permanent social or political change themselves. The transitory goal of flash mobs is not sufficient to change the world, but merely serves to gain fleeting attention and or serve as a type of ice-breaker that might then in turn eventually lead to social or political change through a distinctly separate social or political movement only indirectly related to the original flash mob. A flash mob's purpose and intent exist in the sense of providing a momentary feeling of unity and community, but is limited by its intentionally short-term goal of mass entertainment. As flash mobs have become more mainstream in recent years, most potential social or political power that existed within the phenomena diminished under the weight of thrill seekers and sensationalists, including mass media commentators who hijack the people’s movements and turn them into narratives their corporation wishes to put forward. Flash Mob Or Protest? There are several aspects to consider when determining whether a group of people is a flash mob or a protest. The determination helps define the potential social and political power associated with the group. Consider the following groups: gathering to support or criticize a political candidate, gathering in a train station with orchestra instruments to play a one-song concert, and gathering in a crowd of people to do a dance routine. Which are flash mobs and which are protests? One important aspect of consideration is whether the group is an open or closed group. A second important aspect of consideration includes the group’s goal. There are differences in both areas concerning flash mobs and protests. Haston 4 Open and Closed Groups Canetti described two types of groups, open and closed. Closed groups have a specified location that continues to stand in place regardless of people being present in the location (Canetti, 1984, pp. 16-17). The location itself holds meaning, with or without group members being present at the location (i. e. places of worship or where work for the group is performed). The specified space has defined boundaries with entrances and exits (Canetti, 1984, pp. 16-17). Acceptance into the closed group must be granted before the group
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