Essay: Social networking, social and political awareness

Some people argue that the area social and political awareness, social networking has had a strongly positive effect to cause the Arabian spring . And some other people think that there are other economic and political reasons led to Revolutions but Facebook and social media was important factor helped the people to make a revolution .
Social Media Website Inflamed the Revolution in Egypt:
Social Media Profile of MEA:
“Hosni Mubarak, Anwar Sadat, and Gamal Abdel Nasser were having their tea in the
life after death. Mubarak asked Nasser, ”How did you end up here””?Poison,” Nasser
replied. Mubarak then turned to Sadat. ”What about you”? he asked. ”An
assassin’s bullet,” Sadat said. Sadat and Nasser then turned to Mubarak, ”And
you”? To which Mubarak replied: ”Facebook.”
. This joke has been common in Egypt since the resignation day of President Mubarak on 11 February 2011.
Some observers consider social media as the main force behind the popular
movement against authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and North African
region (Cohen,Webster,2011).
Arab youth who are under thirty years old and are far more educated than their parents are presenting large percentages of the Arab region population. Many resent being unemployed
and are aggravated by a really noticeable lack of future opportunities.
Many are also tech-savvy and use social media: people under thirty constitute 70% of Facebook users in the region.
With the number of 81 million citizens, Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle
East, one-third of this total population (about 23 million) represents youth aged 15’29 .
(M. Lim Clicks, Cabs, and Houses,2012) .
This age group grew significantly in size from 1988 to 2011 and now causes huge pressures on the labor market. Unemployment among the Egyptian youth increased, reaching 24% by December 2010.
According to Clicks, Cabs, and Houses,2012.The country that constitutes around 5 million Facebook users (Spot On, 2010), makes up about 22% of total users in the Arab region , Young people under thirty represents 78% of this population,
Facebook is ranked as the second most accessed Website in Egypt after Google and there are more Facebook users comparing to newspaper readers (Spot On, 2010).
According to a study by the Dubai School of Government, the estimation of Facebook users numbers in the region almost doubled from 11.9 million in 2009 to 21.3 million in
2010. The growth in Facebook users in the region in the first quarter of
2011 was a further 30%.
YouTube: is one of the most popular Social Network Sites among the Egyptian youth that was ranked as the fourth most visited Website. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 videos
were uploaded on a daily base in 2008 (Egyptian Cabinet Information and Decision Support
Center, 2010).
According to Dicken-Garcia (1998). It is believed that the Internet is an emphasis on interpersonal casual conversation to be accurate above means. Also, It’s noted that the Internet creates new opportunities to our users, not a phenomenon that communicate electronically Which could never say face to face or by phone. Sometimes, internet users use the new identity, age and sex, all serve the original behavior less likely there was added online chat, which is more like word of mouth newspapers and television, and often “without taking users of information via the Internet that they would accept such enthusiasm from other media’ (p. 22).
forecasted that the new media technologies similar to the Internet will empower individuals Gilder (1990)
According to Glider1990,
‘blowing apart all monopolies, hierarchies, pyramids, and power grids of established
society’ (p. 32).
What Dunleavy and Weir (1998) called open-book government could also form
a significant part of a new era of electronic democracy. Not only does the Internet
have the potential to improve access to the government, it could also “invigorate representative
democracy: Electronic advances could make public consultation and participation wider, easier
and more diverse; and provide new media opportunities which could both focus and
diversify the information people receive and obtain for themselves, as the old media.”.
How the web is traveling on an equal quickly as it offers its audience a massive range of opportunities for communication.
Network always “to” allow 24-hour interaction and information sharing between individuals and groups (Kiesler, 1997). Fortuitous for U&G researchers, communication on the
Internet also leaves a trail that is easily observable. Messages have time stamps, accurate
On the other hand some people argue that the revolution happend because:
class inequality, poverty and rising food prices extensions,
And gradually clear evidence of corruption. Food protests that took place in space
In 2008, respectively contribution to the existing discontent, and power to the people
Test. (Kanbur , 2013). And he added ” The major driving factors behind the Arab Spring are the increasing economic problems and political problems”.
In my opinion , I noticed that this is one of the reasons the reasons for the revolution, but in the reign of Hosni Mubarak, the people he lacks the rights of more than 30 years, but the media is grown in the minds of the people that the president, such as God and should be loved by everyone and endures. Why not do a revolution in previous years? But because the real reason in my opinion is that the Mubarak government was based on cultivated way Made a closed Egyptian society about the world and the Egyptian media covers all crimes carried out by Mubarak in his presidency, and after the emergence of Facebook and the interaction of people, young people especially. I mean, after he found a means of expression and freedom of ideas they have to create the idea of the revolution was the beginning of a page called “We are all Khaled Said” to suppor this , According to Sadek,J(2011)
” because of their reliance on such
Instant electronic communication technology
and mobile informationPhones and laptops,
satellite TV, the Internet, or even more
Specifically, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube –
oriented techniques forMonitor events from
moment to moment, around the clock”
There is no doubt that the Egyptian youth and people were suffering economic and political issues, which created part of the inspiration to complain and attempt to change their conditions then. On the other hand, the nation and its people were suffering since years before 25 January 2011 but there was no real action to protest loudly.
It seems that the Use and Gratification (U&G) Theory researchers predicted the proper perceptions through of what is happening Today. Arab Youth, particularly, in Egypt are using the internet as a wide square to express their gratifications freely far from the real world that full of limitations .The youth created their own democracy nation through the internet, they imagined it on the reality, then they revolute to change their current reality!
Facebook, the Social Network Site (SNS) and as part of the internet was the best channel to connect and exchange the mutual needs, gratification, grievances, and their aspiration to change. The various social movements such as Kefaya, The April 6th Movement, and many other assembled people with the same thought and orientation via the internet and social websites. They created unreal community to revolute against the old regime and the growing suffering from their problems then such being unemployed, in short, they created unreal Al-Tahrir Square on the internet and push, inspire, and motivate them to revolute and protest in Egypt’s streets. The successful usage of social media to protest and revolute disclosed an innovative plan and strategy that surprised the old regime. Also, the rapid sharing process of the events on the SNS (photos, videos, and sounds) inspired people who are staying at home to join the revolute in Al-Tahrir square and all the places that protestors were gathering in. In my opinion , People have to publish all their opinion on the internet but everyone has to respect their opinions with out saying bad words or doing problems. I mean everyone has to accept everyone’s thinking .