The use of online venues for protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will continue to gain steam as the conflicts drag on, predicts a University of Alabama social change expert.

“Anti-war organizers have found that ‘on the ground’ protest alone has yielded little impact in terms of persuading the mainstream public and gathering like-minded activists, especially as the American public and youth cultures become desensitized to images of marches and demonstrations in the news media,” says Dr. Jason Edward Black, assistant professor of communication studies in the UA College of Communication and Information Sciences.

Black says that social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace will persist as instantaneous and accessible mediums to recruit activists and organize pockets of protest. “These networking sites allow mass-organizing through friends lists and blogs, and can even generate online petitions, fundraising and email-writing campaigns,” he says.

Black also contends that YouTube will maintain its role as a provider of voice and agency to young activists, in particular, as they are able to easily and expediently offer their views on the U.S. military’s war efforts through speak-outs, parodies, skits and other genres of performance.

“We have already seen an amplification of YouTube protests and social networking anti-war activism, and these – in turn – support discussions among protest communities. Whether or not one agrees with these activists’ positions, such online participation demonstrates that younger Americans can and do enter into civic engagement activities,” he says.