COM1514
Assignment 3
PORTFOLIO
Semester 2 2025
Due 17 October 2025
,COM1514
Assignment 3: PORTFOLIO
Semester 2 2025
DUE 17 October 2025
Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 3
2. Digital Activism ............................................................................................................ 5
2.1 Summary of the Article ........................................................................................... 5
2.2 Critical Discussion of Strategies Used by Gen Z ................................................... 8
2.2.1 Networked Organisation and Decentralised Leadership ................................. 8
2.2.2 Digital Storytelling, Framing, and Visual Resistance ....................................... 9
2.2.3 Hashtag Solidarity and Transnational Networks ............................................ 10
2.2.4 Digital Safety, Surveillance, and Counter-Strategies ..................................... 11
2.2.5 Cultural Hybridisation and the Language of Resistance ................................ 12
2.2.6 Comparative Perspectives: Lessons from Other Movements........................ 13
2.2.7 Evaluating Effectiveness: Symbolic Power and Policy Impact ...................... 14
2.3 Application of Concepts ....................................................................................... 15
2.3.1 Resource Mobilisation Theory ....................................................................... 15
2.3.2 Castells’ Network Society .............................................................................. 16
2.3.3 Habermas’ Public Sphere and Fraser’s Counterpublics ................................ 17
2.3.4 Tilly’s Repertoire of Contention ..................................................................... 18
, 2.3.5 Integrative Analysis ....................................................................................... 19
3. Media, Development and Democracy ....................................................................... 21
3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 21
3.2 Media and the Development Paradigm ................................................................ 21
3.3 Media Democratisation in Kenya ......................................................................... 22
3.4 Media, Citizenship and Political Accountability .................................................... 24
3.5 Media Freedom and Regulation........................................................................... 25
3.6 Media, Inequality and the Digital Divide ............................................................... 26
3.7 Media and the Future of Democratic Development .............................................. 26
4. Media Audiences ....................................................................................................... 28
4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 28
4.2 From Passive Viewers to Active Interpreters ....................................................... 28
4.3 Participatory Culture and Digital Citizenship ........................................................ 29
4.4 Uses and Gratifications: Why Audiences Engage ................................................ 30
4.5 Generational Identity and Media Engagement ..................................................... 31
4.6 Audiences, Interpretation and Power ................................................................... 32
4.7 Audience Fragmentation and the Algorithmic Public ............................................ 33
4.8 The African Context: Oral Traditions and Hybrid Audiences ................................ 34
5. Sources Consulted .................................................................................................... 36
, 1. Introduction
Digital activism has become one of the defining political languages of the twenty-first
century. Around the world, citizens now mobilise not only through unions or parties but
through hashtags, livestreams and digital networks that connect people across
geography and class. Africa has seen this transformation vividly. From the
#FeesMustFall movement in South Africa to #EndSARS in Nigeria and #ShutItAllDown
in Namibia, young people have shown that online spaces can be repurposed into
arenas of political participation and accountability. Kenya’s 2024 Generation Z protests
belong to this larger continental and global story, revealing how digital connectivity,
creativity and civic frustration combine to challenge entrenched political systems.
The growing importance of digital activism raises deep questions about how media,
technology and democratic participation intersect. Traditional theories of democracy
were built on the assumption that deliberation occurs in identifiable public spheres such
as town halls, parliaments or newspapers. Today, however, much of that deliberation
happens on networked platforms that operate through algorithms and private ownership
structures. These changes have blurred the boundaries between public and private,
political and personal, and information and emotion. Understanding what this shift
means for democracy requires careful, critical analysis of how citizens use media to
build solidarity, circulate information and contest authority.
This essay therefore explores the dynamics of digital activism, particularly as they
unfolded during Kenya’s 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests. It begins by examining Kenya
protests: Gen Z shows the power of digital activism, an article published by The
Conversation on 24 June 2024. The analysis of this article serves two purposes: first,
to summarise the arguments presented, and second, to critique the strategies and
assumptions that underpin the portrayal of Gen Z activism. By doing so, the essay not
only assesses the accuracy and fairness of the article’s interpretation but also situates it
within broader theoretical debates about communication, social movements and the
politics of youth.
Assignment 3
PORTFOLIO
Semester 2 2025
Due 17 October 2025
,COM1514
Assignment 3: PORTFOLIO
Semester 2 2025
DUE 17 October 2025
Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 3
2. Digital Activism ............................................................................................................ 5
2.1 Summary of the Article ........................................................................................... 5
2.2 Critical Discussion of Strategies Used by Gen Z ................................................... 8
2.2.1 Networked Organisation and Decentralised Leadership ................................. 8
2.2.2 Digital Storytelling, Framing, and Visual Resistance ....................................... 9
2.2.3 Hashtag Solidarity and Transnational Networks ............................................ 10
2.2.4 Digital Safety, Surveillance, and Counter-Strategies ..................................... 11
2.2.5 Cultural Hybridisation and the Language of Resistance ................................ 12
2.2.6 Comparative Perspectives: Lessons from Other Movements........................ 13
2.2.7 Evaluating Effectiveness: Symbolic Power and Policy Impact ...................... 14
2.3 Application of Concepts ....................................................................................... 15
2.3.1 Resource Mobilisation Theory ....................................................................... 15
2.3.2 Castells’ Network Society .............................................................................. 16
2.3.3 Habermas’ Public Sphere and Fraser’s Counterpublics ................................ 17
2.3.4 Tilly’s Repertoire of Contention ..................................................................... 18
, 2.3.5 Integrative Analysis ....................................................................................... 19
3. Media, Development and Democracy ....................................................................... 21
3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 21
3.2 Media and the Development Paradigm ................................................................ 21
3.3 Media Democratisation in Kenya ......................................................................... 22
3.4 Media, Citizenship and Political Accountability .................................................... 24
3.5 Media Freedom and Regulation........................................................................... 25
3.6 Media, Inequality and the Digital Divide ............................................................... 26
3.7 Media and the Future of Democratic Development .............................................. 26
4. Media Audiences ....................................................................................................... 28
4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 28
4.2 From Passive Viewers to Active Interpreters ....................................................... 28
4.3 Participatory Culture and Digital Citizenship ........................................................ 29
4.4 Uses and Gratifications: Why Audiences Engage ................................................ 30
4.5 Generational Identity and Media Engagement ..................................................... 31
4.6 Audiences, Interpretation and Power ................................................................... 32
4.7 Audience Fragmentation and the Algorithmic Public ............................................ 33
4.8 The African Context: Oral Traditions and Hybrid Audiences ................................ 34
5. Sources Consulted .................................................................................................... 36
, 1. Introduction
Digital activism has become one of the defining political languages of the twenty-first
century. Around the world, citizens now mobilise not only through unions or parties but
through hashtags, livestreams and digital networks that connect people across
geography and class. Africa has seen this transformation vividly. From the
#FeesMustFall movement in South Africa to #EndSARS in Nigeria and #ShutItAllDown
in Namibia, young people have shown that online spaces can be repurposed into
arenas of political participation and accountability. Kenya’s 2024 Generation Z protests
belong to this larger continental and global story, revealing how digital connectivity,
creativity and civic frustration combine to challenge entrenched political systems.
The growing importance of digital activism raises deep questions about how media,
technology and democratic participation intersect. Traditional theories of democracy
were built on the assumption that deliberation occurs in identifiable public spheres such
as town halls, parliaments or newspapers. Today, however, much of that deliberation
happens on networked platforms that operate through algorithms and private ownership
structures. These changes have blurred the boundaries between public and private,
political and personal, and information and emotion. Understanding what this shift
means for democracy requires careful, critical analysis of how citizens use media to
build solidarity, circulate information and contest authority.
This essay therefore explores the dynamics of digital activism, particularly as they
unfolded during Kenya’s 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests. It begins by examining Kenya
protests: Gen Z shows the power of digital activism, an article published by The
Conversation on 24 June 2024. The analysis of this article serves two purposes: first,
to summarise the arguments presented, and second, to critique the strategies and
assumptions that underpin the portrayal of Gen Z activism. By doing so, the essay not
only assesses the accuracy and fairness of the article’s interpretation but also situates it
within broader theoretical debates about communication, social movements and the
politics of youth.
