There is much debate about the role social media
played in the revolutions of the Arab Spring. I primarily side with the
analysts who say that its role was essential. The digital networks of Facebook
and Twitter made the protests possible by breaking down the barriers to free
speech and allowing information to spread within as well as between countries.
The governments of Syria, Egypt, and Tunisia, who typically fear large,
organized groups, severely underestimated the power of individual communication
via social media. As a result, these platforms transmitted details and images
of the protests, which were then picked up and broadcasted to the rest of the
world by television and traditional media outlets.
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| Clicks by Location (Figure 2 from the Blogs and Bullets II Report) |
Conversely, the social media skepticism of Jillian York
and the Blogs and Bullets II Report also bring up some interesting points. Both
argue that, while social media was influential in organizing the protests, it
was not the catalyst. Rather, the revolutions were “the culmination of nearly a
decade of efforts” (York). In this light, pre-existing conditions such as
unemployment or human rights violations, topped with the shocking self-immolation
of Mohammed Bouazizi, are what spurred citizens to take to the streets. As the
Blogs and Bullets II Report notes, social media may have helped project the call to
action to the outside world, but it did not serve as an internal battle cry to
action.
What the skeptics seem to
overlook is establishing the proper lens through which to analyze new media. They
are focused on studying the episodic, short-term impact of social media
content. Yet, a revolution is much more than just a series of specific events.
It is a complex, long-term process resulting in not only a regime change but
also a systemic change. Therefore, the social media of the Arab Spring should
be analyzed through a long-term, process-based lens. Rather than assessing
social media’s impact in isolated episodes, social media should be studied as a
sum of its parts. All of the photos, videos, blogs, and tweets aggregated
together make up the new virtual participatory network that has facilitated a
far-reaching information system to rival that of traditional media and
diplomacy. Social media gives grassroots citizens a voice where they would not
have it otherwise. The debate has been focused on the impact of social media on
the uprisings, but the question I would like to pose is this: could the Arab
Spring have occurred without the use of social media?
Firstly, in response to your final question, every ounce of me wants to scream yes, the Arab Spring would have occurred without social media. It was inevitable and possibly it would have happened later, but it would have happened. However, to my everlasting chagrin, I cannot totally say this. Social media played an important role, not as causal as you might assert, but, like in ever system, if you were to remove this part then the whole outcome would have been vastly changed. Secondly, I want to pose a question to you. Do you think that enough time has elapsed for us to start looking at the total impact of social media to the Arab nations? If not, what sort of time frame would you propose? I feel like this trepidation to not look at total impact until we have a right amount of hindsight can lead to missing key factors. I personally lean more to the historian side, and love a good amount of years between me and my subject of study, but, in order to do my historian thing I need these types of studies to start happening immediately. I don’t know, just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right in that the total impact of social media during the Arab Spring cannot be accurately evaluated in the short term. However, I would argue that social media has actually been tool for activism and political purposes for quite some time now. For the past two decades, the access to the Internet has steadily risen and, with that, so too has the virtual individual freedom of expression through social media. Early on, I am sure the seeds of dissent were embedded somewhere among the first Middle Eastern users of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. With the Arab Spring, we see how each of these platforms evolved into forums to not only share concerns, complaints, and frustrations but also to organize and plan protests or demonstrations. Ultimately, I agree that it is too early to tell what the long-term implications of social media will be for the Middle East. Yet, I think what we can certainly say that social media has opened the door to new and creative ways to assemble and achieve political or social change that is immediately conveyed at a global level.
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