The decentralisation of the Internet has fundamentally changed China’s political landscape. Since then, social networking sites has been expanding rapidly with various platforms such as Weibo, QQ and WeChat being created. Resulting with many academics drawing parallels of the Arab Springs with the potential for a similar occurrence in China, given their analogous authoritarian regime. The importance of social media pertaining to the revolution can be seen with the use of Twitter and Facebook to overthrow the powerful Middle Eastern dictatorship . A protest originating from a mere fruit seller in Tunisia, Mohamed Bouazazi , had catalytic effects throughout Middle East as it sparked off various protest and revolutions in the region . Bouazazi …show more content…
While the social media user undoubtedly expanded over the years, the number of activist has not been rising proportionately . Only a small handful are of Chinese users are willing to share activist views online while the rest, in fear of suppression and imprisonment by the CCP, practice ‘self-censorship’ through the fear of being watched . The threat of enforcement of censorship creates a chilling effect as users willingly restrict their thoughts, reserving any form of activism. Hence, this results in netizens utilising social media mainly for entertainment purposes, not effectively utilising social media in a way that challenges the …show more content…
While, Internet usage accounts to an average 71.6% of the population in urban areas, this figure is only a measly 28.4% in rural areas . When further broken down into provinces, only 1/3 of the total provinces has a penetration rate of more than 50% . This means that only a handful of provinces has access to the internet. The fact that Internet usage is only concentrated in the hand urban dwellers poses a challenge to social media activism. The small number of dissidents do not have the mass support base needed to challenge the system. Cases of activism are only available to those in urban areas, making it harder to galvanise and influence the citizens in challenging the status quo. Not only that, revolts are also easier to be clamped down, with them concentrated in an
When Carr talks about how the internet is taking over his mental state he states, “And what the net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation” (32). The internet is no longer be used as just a tool, it is taking a mental toll on him. The internet now consumes his mind, and is creating a new state of mind in which he cannot focus for long periods of time anymore. Gladwell touches on how the internet is taking over how activists convey their feelings and argues, “It makes it easier for activists to express themselves, and harder for that expression to have an impact” (51). Being an activist in today’s time, with the advances of technology, makes a social activists way of expression through the internet easier, but at the same time the activists loses it power of impact.
The essay “Small Change” by Malcolm Gladwell gives a brief explanation of a 1960’s boycott sit-in organized by a small group of African Americans who weren’t allowed to sit at the snack bar that was reserved for Caucasians. Gladwell used this example to further elaborate about how high-risk activism requires a strong hierarchical structure in order to thrive. “Tweet like an Egyptian” is about the Arabs that are located throughout Africa and the Middle East gaining access to social networking. Attaining the internet allowed Arabs to acquire a virtual life of freedom of speech and expression. The internet empowered these people with information to challenge their authorities in real life.
A big downside about today 's society is that some of them only know how to fight for something they want “behind the screens”, it is easy to start a petition and get people to sign it but the problem with this situation is that people realize how easy it is to sign a petition and can easily fake it. Without protests things would change in a big way and that would easily allow the oppressors to stay in power and silence the people. Technology is a good thing for taking a stand for or against something and calling out flaws in today 's society. Sadly some people aren’t socially aware or are socially aware and shy to speak up about today’s injustices and take a stand against bad things such as: the possible presidency of the wrong people who don 't deserve the privilege of controlling the country and influencing the minds of people with horrible absurd theories about certain identity groups and instill fear and hatred in the minds of people. Such things can be affected by technology which can influence the people towards making the right people popular and standing up for their ideas and not letting the
She provides examples of how social media has influenced the world, both positively and negatively. The author refers to social media’s role in social uprisings: “In the revolution in Egypt to overthrow Hosni Mubarak, Facebook connected and united protestors so well that one Egyptian couple named their new baby “Facebook” as a show of gratitude to the site’s positive impact” (Evans 2). In this instance social media was an especially helpful and productive tool for the protestors to use. Often sites like tumblr and Facebook are quicker to provide information about breaking news; however, the speed of these sites becomes an issue in some cases. For example Evans mentions the website Reddit and how its users tried to identify one of the Boston bombers, but ended up accusing the wrong man.
The ancient Greeks defined Kairos as meaning to act at the right or opportune moment, known as the ‘supreme moment’. Rhetorical situations often appear without warnings, each with its own unique set of challenges, at certain time and places that can’t be replicated. It is up to us as an individual, aspirating rhetoricians, to judge when the opportune moment to engage in rhetorical situations is. However, has the definition of how we engage in Kairos changed since its inception in ancient Greece?
"The 21st century is needless to say, the era of digitalization, as social media controls every aspect of human life. Technology has rendered paper and pencil useless as it has shifted the face of the earth to network and communicate faster than ever. Countless apps, websites, and softwares exist to satiate the human desire for convenience and efficiency, all while serving to entertain our complex mindsets. Social media and its platform offer numerous ways for users to speak their minds through comments and ways to express themselves through pictures. The 1st Amendment in the Constitution “prohibits the peoples’ representatives in Congress from abridging these rights” (“The Bill of Rights”).
Introduction There is great contention regarding the impact of social media on political activism in Canada. While social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter offer users new opportunities to communicate, share, and disseminate memes and ideas, they also promote or facilitate the movement into streets for protests or other forms of activity. The arguments against social media generally revolve around its disposition towards remaining sedentary, behind the screen of a laptop or smart phone, writing short messages for the opposition to witness instead of actually making a physical presence in the real world. Alternatively, those who regularly engage in social media activism argue that they are raising awareness for their cause, which is theoretically true if one is to consider the sudden surge in discussion about specific topics.
“A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon." (Bradbury 58) Censorship is the act of suppressing speech, works of literature, music, movies, work of arts, and ideas that are thought to be politically incorrect, offensive, and threatening to society. The United States Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances ( law.cornell.edu) However, historically, government officials and organizations have been “abridging” our freedoms since the inception of this
n today’s society the internet plays a huge role in the everyday lives of many people, therefore many individuals’ main form of communication is over sites like Facebook, and twitter. In Malcolm Gladwell’s essay, “Small Change, Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted,” he explores the different methods used by activists nowadays versus those used by the activists in the 1960s. Gladwell argues that social media is not an effective tool to initiate revolutionary movements or any change at all for that matter, based off its weak ties formed over different social networks. Gladwell illustrates multiple cases of protests and adds that without the assistance of social media, these protests were stronger, prearranged and based off deeper emotional ties. Throughout the article Gladwell continuously returns to the Civil rights movement and why it was effective.
Censorship can be described as the act of cutting out certain material that can be considered obscene or inconvenient for the community. This material can be found in social media such as in the TV, radio, or the internet. Censorship can be challenged because of the first amendment: freedom of speech. Free expression is the right of expressing opinions and ideas without any fear of being restrained or censored. However, freedom of speech does not include the right to incite actions that would harm others or the distribution of obscene material (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, 2000).
The man who created the page states “ Itself as the voice of those who despised the deterioration of Egypt, particularly as far as human rights were concerned” (Ghonim). Social Media is another form of non- violence, and it does not cause more problems. Social media was able to risk awareness , perhaps even more than violence would
Multiple countries throughout the world have internet access at their fingertips and are able to find the answer to their questions instantly. “As of June 2017, 51% of the world’s population has internet access. In 2015, the International Telecommunication Union estimated about 3.2 billion people, or almost half of the world’s population, would be online by the end of the year” (Gordon). Billions of people use the Internet each and every day to research topics, check their social media, and communicate. The nation as a whole has become extremely dependent on technology to do their work and survive through the day.
In the generation of technology and innovation, the creation of social mediaattract a vast number of people world wide. Aside from the basic necessities of living it may also considered as one of the most important belonging of an individual in this day and age. Primarily because of its accessibility to communication, information, education, and entertainment. Social media offers several kinds of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Gmail, YouTube, and among other things, which enable the users to communicate and participate to broader range of issues and events worldwide.
In conclusion, political impact on social media is huge and obvious. Social media platforms is substituting the traditional formal news media which has restrictions on the news and information they share especially in closed societies. Governments of closed societies are facing a problem because the government cannot control the news and the information shared on the internet which diminish the government authority to control their citizens. Lack of control on internet has made social media a platform for activists in politics and human right
Furthermore, in many developing countries or in those with oppressive regimes, government actions are more important than the Internet in defining how information is produced and consumed, and by whom. There are so many counties that use strict censorship in their media. “Present-day examples include Russia as a territorially shrunken successor state to the former USSR, China and North Korea” (Höchli, 2010). Censorship in North Korea is known to be the most intense among the world. With a government such as theirs, they are able to take strict control over communications.