Introduction
This essay aims to critically examine the political uses made of social media in the times of contemporary social movements. More specifically, this study explores the dynamics of internet usage in the midst of Gezi Park occupation in Istanbul, in the summer of 2013. In a period of conflict and resistance new trends and values emerged and the “polities” as we know (parties, unions, networks of militants) were questioned within the Turkish society.
The Internet can be seen as a tool but it is also an essential condition to create and maintain leaderless, deliberative and participatory movements, and to foster a culture of autonomy. Networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Youtube work as technological platforms of communication, and therefore demand that other social spheres are analyzed in parallel: tactics of authoritarian government; protests and occupations as practices of ephemeral and situational dwelling; public spaces as political forums and the rethinking of the public sphere.
In this sense, both the activist and the common citizen are now questioning precisely on some of the elements that constitute the institutional forms of representation: well defined codes and roles that formalise the experience of belonging and hierarchy, the repertoires of action and the modes of formal speeches.
When the urban planning gets political
In mid 1980, various transformations were initiated in Istanbul under globalisation and the transition from the national development to neoliberal capitalism. With this shift came the failure of social integration and consistent inequality at economic, political and cultural levels. Such lack of social integration can be experienced in the forms of gated communities - home of wealt...
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Right before Turkey, Twitter played a considerable importance within demonstrations during the Arab Spring, particularly in Egypt and Tunisia. However, its use by the Turkish population presented distinct and unique patterns - as analysed by the New York University’s Social Media and Political Participation study. During 3 days, 10 million tweets were sent using the demonstration popular hashtags and 90% of those were sent from within the country - 90% from Istanbul. In 2011 in Egypt, for example, only 30% of tweets were sent from there, setting the network usage as one more global than local. Another interesting data is the language in which tweets were written - in 80% of the cases the messages were in Turkish and not in English. This trend suggests that the audience was made by the local population much more than the international one, and a likely reason for
The issues of how technology is influencing our nation today has come into play with social media and surveillance in our personal lives. We use twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. to express our opinions on things and as a voice to inform people on what’s going on in today’s society. We have learned how to use the tools we’ve been given to change our lives forever; our government has access to all of our personal information in exchange for our protection against terrorism. In Bijan Stephen’s article on “Black Lives Matter” and Rebecca McKinnon’s chapter on “the Arab Spring”, they both touch on the power of technology in negative and positive ways.
The article named “spring awakening” wrote by Jose Vargas describes the impact of social media in converting the mentality of young Egyptian generations into bold and defend their inalienable rights as a citizen. This article justifies how social media can mobilize a tremendous number of people to stand up for their rights. The reasons that inspire my emotion is emerging of “Wael Ghonim” as a legendary vocal figure of action for change, revelation of social media as earthquake for change, and fundamental soci-political change.
However, books and newspapers are not our sole source of the written word. Online blogs, articles, and newsletters now exist. Television and books have merged into one: the Internet. Revolutions, riots, and rebellions don’t just happen in our living rooms now, they happen on the go with us. On the subway, when we’re waiting in line at Subway, at our friend’s house as he talks about how he’s “way into subs.”
While many people throughout the world see social media as a trendy new application in the service of personal amusement, the political upheavals in the Arab world have shown how it can change the dynamics of modern day activism. The Arab Spring Uprising interlaced social unrest with a technological revolution. Blogs, news websites, twitter feeds, and political list servers became avenues for communication, information flow and solidarity. Being capable of sharing an immense amount of uncensored information through social media sites has contributed to the success of many Arab Spring activists. Social media played a role in facilitating the events of the Arab Spring, but the main issues are rooted in a broader set of economic, political, and social factors. This paper will examine how social media impacted the Arab Spring Uprising. Specifically, I will look at how social media introduced a novel resource that helped to created internet activist communities, changed the dynamics of social mobilization and revolutionized interactions between protesters and the rest of the world.
When the concept of governance is identified, it is most often associated with states, governments, and large corporations. However, one of the doors that democracy has opened for citizens has led to their ability to influence governance in a method that states, governments, and large corporations are not able to identify with. Concerned citizens and informal project activists have the capacity to motivate and create social change through their use of new media to challenge large issues that are often kept buried by political figures and the state. Furthermore, the mass movement of individuals in society as one whole will change the perspectives of many others, who will also be likely to join in the movement to fight society's problems through tactical media. Tactical media will empower citizens to create social and political change as it provides citizens an opportunity to participate in any kind of movement that they wish, thus, not putting any restrictions on the interests of citizens; this motivates them to become active users of tactical media as they are provided with freedom...
social media has played a significant role in recent outbreaks of social protest and resistance.
business and the list keeps going. However; Scrolling down your news feed allows you to interact with peoples opinion and feelings not actual information.
In our world, social media is one of the most important forms of media within our society. People use it to keep in contact with old friends and family, and see the latest news and events. In a conflict perspective’s point of view, social media has enforced and has increased inequality between all people on social feeds, and a somewhat of a power struggle between all people.
For example, in Saleem Kassim views, “As a result of the many technological advancements and innovations that have revolutionized how individuals communicate, an abundance of information has become available to everyone.” Saleem Kassim’s point is that anyone and everybody can put out information that can be seen by everyone when you are an internet user. For example, the news can tell you that there’s nothing happening in a certain country; whereas, someone from that country can post on twitter and upload videos showing anyone that decides to see the truth of what is really happening in their country. Kassim also states, “Ultimately, public information supplied by social networking websites has played an important role during modern-day activism, specifically as it pertains to the Arab Spring.” In other words, Kassim believes that digital communication has brought people together to fight for something that is a good cause. To have people aware of the truth and to have someone do something about it. Indeed it is highly likely that we bring people together for a good cause but digital communication can also cause a downside through having no censorship on what you post. When more people are brought up of current events trending they decide to hope on board to see if there is anything they can do to help. Not to mention, Graff and Birkenstein view it the same way. Like I mentioned earlier, Graff and
Currently, social media plays a significant role in our everyday lives and the way people in society interacts with one another. A few years ago, before its influence reached the point where it is now, the large platforms such as Facebook or Twitter which function was merely to keep family and friends connected no matter where they were or what they were doing, and the requirements were an internet connection and a smart phone or a computer. People would share pictures or posts to keep others “updated” on their lives and what they were thinking. Now social media platforms are far more complicated. In various of them, such as Instagram or Snapchat, it is not enough to only share a picture or video of your day, but it is almost a requirement and people are pushed to take an extra mile further away and make yourself appear interesting in the eyes of others. The “feed” requires to be eye catching, the captions should be memorable, the places one goes to ought to look way better than they actually are, you have to include friends in such posts to prove one have a social life outside of the phone. The importance of the number of followers, likes or viewers
Public Relations has acknowledged public involvement as the most essential factor of the practice since its creation. However, the means and methods of reaching the public remained significantly limited until recently. Over the last decade, public relations has welcomed the use of varied tools, including new media, to further their reach and cultivate relationships with its publics. The term “new media” encompasses a variety of non-traditional methods including social media. Social media has become a significant catalyst in the communication sector of public relations. The pairing of social media and public relations has helped create new opportunities for brands through two-way communication, social case study campaigns, and social sharing.
As technology increases and develops in this century, the use of social media increases as well. Schools have begun adapting it, using it as their tool to inform students of any school related news. However, using it as a tool for learning is a different story. By using it as a tool, it can push you off your course with classes. Social media is something that is not needed at school grounds. Schools should not require social media use in classes.
Since the introduction of internet in the 1990’s, its importance worldwide has always grown tremendously. From the first email send to the domination of Facebook and other social media websites, it has changed the way people communicate. The use of social media is increasingly becoming the preferred way people share their daily activities, ideas and knowledge and that is why it’s the most talked about and used platform. Many companies are encouraging their employees to use various social media platforms and engage online for office productivity, posting opinions and presenting their thoughts. Corporations realize that Social Media tools such as blogs, forums, podcasts and social networking websites makes internal communications faster, more convenient and effective. Social media is a low-cost, high-impact tool that can also complement and reinforce your existing communications efforts. It gives a new dimension to internal communications in many ways: building relationship with employees, leads to diverse thinking and innovation, and reduce costs and Increase Productivity. Social media has impacted positively in the business world, but its downside has impacted teens in high school, with issues such as cyber bullying, and people using Facebook and twitter to get over their boredom and research proving that the more they use social networking websites the more envious they feel.
In mere minutes, any active user can access information and associations regarding various causes, such as the riots happening in Egypt and the Middle East. Teenagers, in the Middle East, used their Facebook accounts to campaign the “Day of Rage” in Saudi Arabia. Helping to set the Arab riots in motion, the event demanded elections, freedom for women, and the liberation of political prisoners. The activists’ goals to bring democracy to Egypt and removing Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s fourth president from 1981 to 2011, still continue and perhaps with the assistance of Facebook they will accomplish these ambitions. The causes campaigned through Facebook have served as a fundraise...
It is no secret that social media has become a part of our everyday lives. This is a society where you are judged by how many Instragram likes your photos can get or how many followers you have on Twitter. Not only have social media become a part of our lives, it has changed the way. Whether it be lack of conversation at the dinner table or voicing our opinion on Twitter, there is no denying that social media is here to stay. While my fellow Rider students and I may be spending too much checking social media sites, it most certainly keeps us in touch with the Rider community.