Due to the development of SMS messaging, cell phone users have adopted a great sense of power. People become more connected and gain the ability to organize groups from political advocates to terrorist groups. These groups are known as Smart Mobs. As we keep making advances in mobile communication technology, these groups will continue to gain more power. Smart mobs are a developing threat in todays culture as Howard Rheingold explains in his book Smart mobs: The Next Social Revolution.
SMS technology is an ideal way of communication. It is efficient, quick, and very affordable. Because of how cheap text messaging and cell phones are, even some people in third world countries are able to have a cell phone. Now I’m not talking about a smart phone, but just a old cell phone that has SMS messaging capabilities. This quick and easy way of communicating creates a mass communication that often leads to the organization of smart mobs. Rheingold explains that is important to focus on the mass communication taking place rather than the actual smart mobs that are created. This mass communication created by text messaging can lead to smart mobs containing political supporters, sports fans, or even terrorists. Smart mobs are merely uncontrollable and the mass communication will be present as long as there is the efficient way of communicating through SMS.
Some of these smart mobs can potentially be a threat to todays society. Recently, there was a problem at the Wisconsin State Fair. It was claimed to be a race based flash mob that led to racial violence. Alleged racial attacks were said to be taken place outside of the State Fair grounds. This most likely started out with a good number of teens spreading word of what was going down at the state fair, leading to more and more teens hearing about it which led to more people joining. This is just one example of how powerful the mass communication created by these smart mobs actually is. It is often people use this technology to be productive and intelligent, but people who strive to spread hate have the same opportunities to do so with SMS technologies.
Smart mobs will continue to grow as mobile technologies continue to ascend to the top of the industry so it does not look as though there will be any slowing down. Smart mobs can be both a good and bad thing for society. Obviously, cases like the one you mentioned are developing bad reputations for these groups. The problem is both good and bad they will not stop anytime soon.
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