COM1514
Assignment 3
PORTFOLIO
Semester 2 2025
Due 17 October 2025
,COM1514
Assignment 3 Portfolio
Semester 2 2025
DUE 17 October 2025
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 3
2. Digital Activism ............................................................................................................ 4
2.1 Summary of the Article ........................................................................................... 4
2.2 Critical Discussion of Strategies Used by Gen Z ................................................... 7
2.2.1 Networked Organisation and Decentralised Leadership ................................. 7
2.2.2 Digital Storytelling, Framing, and Visual Resistance ....................................... 8
2.2.3 Hashtag Solidarity and Transnational Networks .............................................. 9
2.2.4 Digital Safety, Surveillance, and Counter-Strategies ..................................... 10
2.2.5 Cultural Hybridisation and the Language of Resistance ................................ 11
2.2.6 Comparative Perspectives: Lessons from Other Movements........................ 12
2.2.7 Evaluating Effectiveness: Symbolic Power and Policy Impact ...................... 13
2.3 Application of Concepts ....................................................................................... 14
2.3.1 Resource Mobilisation Theory ....................................................................... 14
2.3.2 Castells’ Network Society .............................................................................. 15
2.3.3 Habermas’ Public Sphere and Fraser’s Counterpublics ................................ 16
2.3.4 Tilly’s Repertoire of Contention ..................................................................... 17
2.3.5 Integrative Analysis ....................................................................................... 18
,3. Media, Development and Democracy ....................................................................... 20
3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 20
3.2 Media and the Development Paradigm ................................................................ 20
3.3 Media Democratisation in Kenya ......................................................................... 21
3.4 Media, Citizenship and Political Accountability .................................................... 23
3.5 Media Freedom and Regulation........................................................................... 24
3.6 Media, Inequality and the Digital Divide ............................................................... 25
3.7 Media and the Future of Democratic Development .............................................. 25
4. Media Audiences ....................................................................................................... 27
4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 27
4.2 From Passive Viewers to Active Interpreters ....................................................... 27
4.3 Participatory Culture and Digital Citizenship ........................................................ 28
4.4 Uses and Gratifications: Why Audiences Engage ................................................ 29
4.5 Generational Identity and Media Engagement ..................................................... 30
4.6 Audiences, Interpretation and Power ................................................................... 31
4.7 Audience Fragmentation and the Algorithmic Public ............................................ 32
4.8 The African Context: Oral Traditions and Hybrid Audiences ................................ 33
5. Sources Consulted .................................................................................................... 35
, 1. Introduction
This essay examines how Kenya’s Generation Z has used digital activism to influence
political change and public accountability, particularly during the 2024 protests against
the Finance Bill. The analysis focuses on how social media platforms became
instruments of civic mobilisation, communication, and youth empowerment. It explores
not only how Gen Z mobilised through technology but also how their actions reshaped
the relationship between media, development, and democracy.
The discussion is structured into four main sections. The first section summarises and
critically analyses the article “Kenya protests: Gen Z shows the power of digital
activism” published in The Conversation (June 2024), identifying the key arguments and
strategies that defined this movement. The second section engages critically with the
methods and tactics used by Gen Z, drawing on relevant theories such as networked
publics, framing theory, and resource mobilisation. The third section situates digital
activism within the broader context of media, development, and democracy, considering
both the potential and the limitations of digital mobilisation in advancing democratic
participation. The fourth section focuses on media audiences, exploring how people
interpret, engage with, and contribute to digital activism.
The essay argues that Gen Z’s digital activism in Kenya demonstrates how new media
technologies can challenge state power, enhance democratic accountability, and
reconfigure public participation. However, it also recognises that digital activism
operates within unequal social and technological contexts, raising questions about
access, representation, and sustainability.
Assignment 3
PORTFOLIO
Semester 2 2025
Due 17 October 2025
,COM1514
Assignment 3 Portfolio
Semester 2 2025
DUE 17 October 2025
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 3
2. Digital Activism ............................................................................................................ 4
2.1 Summary of the Article ........................................................................................... 4
2.2 Critical Discussion of Strategies Used by Gen Z ................................................... 7
2.2.1 Networked Organisation and Decentralised Leadership ................................. 7
2.2.2 Digital Storytelling, Framing, and Visual Resistance ....................................... 8
2.2.3 Hashtag Solidarity and Transnational Networks .............................................. 9
2.2.4 Digital Safety, Surveillance, and Counter-Strategies ..................................... 10
2.2.5 Cultural Hybridisation and the Language of Resistance ................................ 11
2.2.6 Comparative Perspectives: Lessons from Other Movements........................ 12
2.2.7 Evaluating Effectiveness: Symbolic Power and Policy Impact ...................... 13
2.3 Application of Concepts ....................................................................................... 14
2.3.1 Resource Mobilisation Theory ....................................................................... 14
2.3.2 Castells’ Network Society .............................................................................. 15
2.3.3 Habermas’ Public Sphere and Fraser’s Counterpublics ................................ 16
2.3.4 Tilly’s Repertoire of Contention ..................................................................... 17
2.3.5 Integrative Analysis ....................................................................................... 18
,3. Media, Development and Democracy ....................................................................... 20
3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 20
3.2 Media and the Development Paradigm ................................................................ 20
3.3 Media Democratisation in Kenya ......................................................................... 21
3.4 Media, Citizenship and Political Accountability .................................................... 23
3.5 Media Freedom and Regulation........................................................................... 24
3.6 Media, Inequality and the Digital Divide ............................................................... 25
3.7 Media and the Future of Democratic Development .............................................. 25
4. Media Audiences ....................................................................................................... 27
4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 27
4.2 From Passive Viewers to Active Interpreters ....................................................... 27
4.3 Participatory Culture and Digital Citizenship ........................................................ 28
4.4 Uses and Gratifications: Why Audiences Engage ................................................ 29
4.5 Generational Identity and Media Engagement ..................................................... 30
4.6 Audiences, Interpretation and Power ................................................................... 31
4.7 Audience Fragmentation and the Algorithmic Public ............................................ 32
4.8 The African Context: Oral Traditions and Hybrid Audiences ................................ 33
5. Sources Consulted .................................................................................................... 35
, 1. Introduction
This essay examines how Kenya’s Generation Z has used digital activism to influence
political change and public accountability, particularly during the 2024 protests against
the Finance Bill. The analysis focuses on how social media platforms became
instruments of civic mobilisation, communication, and youth empowerment. It explores
not only how Gen Z mobilised through technology but also how their actions reshaped
the relationship between media, development, and democracy.
The discussion is structured into four main sections. The first section summarises and
critically analyses the article “Kenya protests: Gen Z shows the power of digital
activism” published in The Conversation (June 2024), identifying the key arguments and
strategies that defined this movement. The second section engages critically with the
methods and tactics used by Gen Z, drawing on relevant theories such as networked
publics, framing theory, and resource mobilisation. The third section situates digital
activism within the broader context of media, development, and democracy, considering
both the potential and the limitations of digital mobilisation in advancing democratic
participation. The fourth section focuses on media audiences, exploring how people
interpret, engage with, and contribute to digital activism.
The essay argues that Gen Z’s digital activism in Kenya demonstrates how new media
technologies can challenge state power, enhance democratic accountability, and
reconfigure public participation. However, it also recognises that digital activism
operates within unequal social and technological contexts, raising questions about
access, representation, and sustainability.
