Jakarta Journo: Like It or Not, It’s the Age of Social Media
August 21, 2011 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
By now it should be obvious that social media is no longer just a “social” tool that exists in the digital world. Events occurring around the world show that virtual culture can manifest into a potent sociopolitical force.
Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have served as sociopolitical movement angels and demons — depending on where one stands.
The recent spate of violence in England has revealed the ugly face of Facebook, with the social networking site allegedly being exploited as an instrument to organize and orchestrate riots and looting.
A judge in England gave Jordan Blackshaw and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan four-year jail sentences for creating Facebook pages called “Smash Down in Northwich Town” and “Warrington Riots.”
There were also strong suspicions that microblogging site Twitter was used to spread messages that flared into further turmoil, and British authorities reportedly considered shutting the site down.
At the same time, however, good citizens used the sites as a way to protect their cities by sharing information about riot centers, which also turned out to be a source of intelligence for authorities.
Facebook and Twitter’s role in the London riots came just months after the unprecedented role of social networking sites in the Arab Spring movement, which began with Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution. Social media was used to mobilize movements and inform the world about what was going on.
The Arab revolution has redefined the relationship between authoritarian regimes and social media. Questions arose whether the sweeping revolutions in the Arab world would affect other countries.
There is no way to conclude for certain if there is a direct correlation, but incidents in China give reason to believe that the digital revolution has infected the communist country, which usually allows zero room for criticism.
After the July train crash in Wenzhou that killed almost 40 people, a torrent of criticism against Beijing was posted on the social networking site Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, which is subject to tight government monitoring.
Another positive note came with the release of Ran Yunfei, a prominent Chinese blogger known for free speech activism who was jailed for six months for subversion.
But these instances do not suggest that the Chinese government has unclenched its fist.
The government reportedly censored the embarrassing brawl during a friendly basketball game between the Bayi Military Rockets and Georgetown University, from the United States, deleting all posts related to the incident on social networking sites.
In Vietnam, also known for its oppressive regime, there is no tolerance for suspected political dissents in social media.
One victim is 56-year-old Pham Minh Hoang, a math lecturer in Ho Chi Minh City who often criticizes the government’s China-friendly policies on his blog. Hoang is the newest addition to the batch of Vietnamese bloggers imprisoned because their blogs were deemed as a threat to national security.
Indonesia has had its share of experience with social networking sites. Facebook was used to rally forces during the so-called criminalization of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) by the National Police, in a case known as cicak (gecko) versus buaya (alligator). Facebook was also used to stand behind Prita Mulyasari in the earlier phase of her case against Omni Hospital.
Recent Twitter trends suggest that the site has turned into a chat room with topics ranging from the possible comeback of Sri Mulyani Indrawati as a presidential candidate, the curious return of Muhammad Nazaruddin and the controversial statements of the Bogor mayor, Budiarto.
The rise of social media as a force is not an isolated trend. It has affected both democratic and authoritarian entities. The real world has a new power that comes from the digital world.
Armando Siahaan is a reporter at the Jakarta Globe and writes a weekly column about current events. Follow him on Twitter @jakartajourno or e-mail him at armando.siahaan@thejakartaglobe.com.
