Lumen Learning

Why summarize the nature and influence of collective behavior and social movements?

There are routine ways that we contribute to the functioning of our society. We follow the laws, we vote, we contact our members of Congress, and we try to get along with one another as best we can. But sometimes the routine ways we previously shaped society no longer seem adequate to us, so we use other ways to try to change our society for the better, or to prevent changes we do not like.

In the event we do not like some aspect of our society, we can take action to try to facilitate some type of change. However, collective behavior takes more than just one person. A good example of this is how Cindy Lightner, a mother whose daughter had been killed by a drunk driver, founded the group MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) to encourage people to think about possible consequences before they drink and drive. She started with only a few people helping her draw attention to this issue, but the organization quickly expanded and has been responsible for changing laws related to drinking and driving in all 50 states.^[1]

Social movements can spread rapidly through social media and become global issues. Some social movements are small-scale, local activism, while others are international in scope. All of this is made possible through technology and the increase in our global interconnectedness.