The personal is political

The document argues that the 'personal is political' regarding technology use, suggesting that individual ethical struggles with digital distraction and loneliness can be a gateway to broader advocacy for media justice. It highlights two primary areas of focus: net neutrality, which prevents Internet Service Providers from unfairly prioritizing or blocking content, and the 'Change the Terms' campaign, which seeks transparent, fair corporate policies to combat online hate speech. The author emphasizes that faith-based organizations are uniquely positioned to lead these efforts due to their moral approach to social justice and their history of fighting discrimination.

• There is a growing recognition in the U.S. that ethical and religious values should guide the use of social media and technology, which can be leveraged to challenge "unjust structures of media and technology".
• Individual-level efforts to promote ethical technology use are emerging through religious practices, such as the #techsabbath and national day of unplugging by the Sabbath Manifesto, as well as secular "humane technology" and mindfulness movements.
• Net neutrality is critical in the U.S. because a small number of providers dominate the market; without it, ISPs can block or throttle content, as evidenced by Comcast blocking the transmission of the King James Bible.
• Online hate speech and harassment significantly suppress speech; 27% of Americans reported deciding not to post content online due to fear of harassment.
• The 'Change the Terms' campaign proposes a model for social media platforms to reduce hate speech through definitions grounded in First Amendment jurisprudence and requirements for transparency, due process, and quarterly data release.
• Faith-based organizations, including the United Church of Christ, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the National Council of Churches, have been key players in advocating for net neutrality and against online hate speech.

APA

Leanza, C. A. (2019). The personal is political. World Association for Christian Communication. https://waccglobal.org/the-personal-is-political/

Chicago

Leanza, Cheryl A. The personal is political. World Association for Christian Communication, 2019. https://waccglobal.org/the-personal-is-political/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Leanza |first1=Cheryl A. |title=The personal is political |publisher=World Association for Christian Communication |date=28 February 2019 |url=https://waccglobal.org/the-personal-is-political/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{leanza2019personal, author = {Leanza, Cheryl A.}, title = {{The personal is political}}, institution = {World Association for Christian Communication}, year = {2019}, month = feb, url = {https://waccglobal.org/the-personal-is-political/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }