In some regions of the world the government controls everything by trying to force on people how to think, what to wear, how to look, what to say, how to behave, whom to support etc. etc.
As social media becomes more easily available, people spend a good proportion of their daily lives using social media, such as Telegram and WhatsApp; they express their opinion rather freely (of course with some self-censoring) hoping to bring about social reforms. Subscribers are increasingly being invited to support political causes by sharing, liking, endorsing, or downloading. Such a small contributions to a cause form a growing part of collective action today; in the name bringing about the rules of democracy. The question is: if such attempt ever succeeds in making make a difference- change for better. Would it bring a society that values diversity and nobody is scared of persecution because of they think differently.
This is a big topic in social movement studies.
Much debate from Arab Spring to recent protests in Iran.
Some say yes it will make a big difference to free speech, others are more sceptical
See one case study of Egypt attached. Let me know if its interesting
Hi Ronaldo,
I believe the society under despotic regimes are segmented, which is the case in the middle east. The segment aspiring for free speech have a lot to lose, hence they won't take the campaign further than sharing messages. Only a few are ready to give to lose everything including their lives. Governments keep this group under control by correction, imprisonment, blocking the internet access and occasional beatings.
According to this reasoning the effect of the social media remains within the isolated group with tight boundaries.
I think you are getting at the underlying issues ok here
there is a lot of hype around the role of social media in the Arab spring etc and not so much attention to the segmented nature of protest as you suggest
more work needed for sure to understand and to change things!
Hi Evelyn,
Thank your question. I though I have defined what I mean by "despotic regime". As wrote: a regime which what to control what you say, what you ware, what a book you can read, what you should do and so on and so forth. Such regime also ask you active participation, a tacit acceptance is considered treason.
For those of you who are interested in the effect of social media on politics.
Dr Taha Yasseri (no relation to me) with three other searchers from the Oxford University have researched the issue of the influence of the social media and wrote a book. The title of book is “Political turbulence”. It is a very readable book.
Here is what they are say.
As people spend increasing proportions of their daily lives using social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, they are being invited to support myriad political causes by sharing, liking, endorsing, or downloading. Chain reactions caused by these tiny acts of participation form a growing part of collective action today, from neighborhood campaigns to global political movements. Political Turbulence reveals that, in fact, most attempts at collective action online do not succeed, but some give rise to huge mobilizations–even revolutions.
Drawing on large-scale data generated from the Internet and real-world events, this book shows how mobilizations that succeed are unpredictable, unstable, and often unsustainable. To better understand this unruly new force in the political world, the authors use experiments that test how social media influence citizens deciding whether or not to participate. They show how different personality types react to social influences and identify which types of people are willing to participate at an early stage in a mobilization when there are few supporters or signals of viability. The authors argue that pluralism is the model of democracy that is emerging in the social media age–not the ordered, organized vision of early pluralists, but a chaotic, turbulent form of politics.
This book demonstrates how data science and experimentation with social data can provide a methodological toolkit for understanding, shaping, and perhaps even predicting the outcomes of this democratic turbulence.
Dear Sirous Yasseri,
Yes, because new Internet media, including social media portals, are the type of media in which there is potentially and realistically greater possibility for citizens to actively participate in creating public opinion and promoting specific content, information and data. The issue of media control by government institutions is also a confirmation. On the one hand, social media portals can be the most independent of other institutions, including public institutions. On the other hand, social media portals can compete with the regime media controlled by the undemocratically elected government. In these circumstances, certain new online media have been blocked when an undemocratic government restricted freedom of speech.
Best regards,
Happy New Year 2021
Dariusz Prokopowicz
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