Social Media in the Middle East - Essay Example

Social Media and The Middle East As many other essential elements of society, media has nowbecome a vital part in strengthening the society. Media has been claimed as the fifth pillar of the society (Oates) as it informs the individuals of the society and keeps them aware of the present scenarios happening across the globe. Since media can reach large audience without any hassle, therefore, it has also been used for negative purposes as well, i.e. for the purpose of propaganda. For this reason, not every state and country have a sound and strong relationship with its media. However, with the transformation in technology, a shift has been observed in media throughout the world i.e. the formation of social media and the Internet. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relationship of Media and Middle East and how it has transformed in the past decades. Furthermore, the paper will discuss the emergence of social media as a major forum that has built people’s perspectives during and after the Arab Spring. In order to understand Middle East (the Arab specifically and comprehensively), the relationship of the media and the state’s culture and its politics should be understood. For more than forty years, mass media authority has built the region. Utilizing the numerous communications models, the centralized government of the region has perfectly ruled the mass media. It is evidenced through history that the Middle East had had rough relationships with its media. The Emirs of different Arab states due to Sharia Laws and other reasons shut down numerous media agencies. Despite the freedom given to the media, different media organizations including BBC were closed down in the Middle East as it was against the laws and Islam (Al-Obaidi). However, over the past few years, it has been noticed that the trend is transforming and the acceptance towards media across the Middle East is increasing. The shift has been observed since the beginning of the Arab Spring (Carrington). The events that took place in various countries of the Middle East from 2010 has transformed the way people think and believe. The role of social media in the Arab spring is dominating and its importance can not be denied as various scholars and researchers have shown that many revolutions started through social media i.e. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. (Gelvanovska, Rogy and Rossotto). Despite the fact that these social media forums were banned in many countries of the Middle East for this particular reason, the Arab Spring continued and many governments were brought down (Stewart). The numerous events that took place in Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Tunisia, Bahrain followed by small protests in Iraq, Kuwait, Morocco etc. have captured the attention of mass media, specifically social media. Social media has been utilized as a very helpful tool in the areas that are affected by the Arab uprisings (Oates). According to various surveys, it was revealed that many individuals used social media (Facebook and Twitter) to organize protests and to create awareness among individuals. This technique went viral on the Internet and the government in Egypt and Tunisia blocked Facebook, Twitter (Adi). According to many individuals, the step by government to ban these social media websites majorly disrupted their communication process as it was easy for them to communicate with masses and to organize anti-governments protests i.e. to build perspectives (Shehadi and Bhargava). Middle East has always been harsh with the media from the very beginning. As it has been aforementioned that the relationship was not too strong and was always in jeopardy as the Emirs have shut down countless media houses and have stopped numerous broadcasts to date because of various religious and other reasons (Adi). In the midst of such situations, the Arab springs completely changed the entire picture of the media and the new media i.e. social media emerged as active forum for the individuals during that period. It was seen that it was through the social media websites that individuals from the smallest village to the largest city of the affected countries were sharing their views on the current issues and were actively taking part for freedom and democracy (Stewart; Shehadi and Bhargava). It should be noted that television was the predominant media in the Middle East before the Arab Spring and is still considered as one, by majority of individuals who believe and find news as credible and reliable source of information (Al-Obaidi). However, these old methods and techniques are now being replaced and transformed by the new technologies of communication i.e. social media. Various surveys in the Middle East have shown that youngsters also spend some time watching television but for the purpose of news they simply check the update on their smart phones through these social apps (Shehadi and Bhargava; Adi). The adaptation of social media as a major source of sharing information, opinion formation, etc. is largely noticed among the youngsters across the world particularly Middle East (Shehadi and Bhargava). For this reason, the old democratic governmental procedures and techniques are now being questioned by this generation and the call for establishing a fresh, visible system with a sincere, energetic leader who is ready to serve his country is being adopted by many nations in the Middle East (Adi). This was all possible because of the social media as the spiral of silence broke in the Middle East and many people were able to share their ideas and demanded new leaders and government instead of corrupt leaders and institutions (Adi; Shehadi and Bhargava). The Arab Spring clearly showed that social media and other communication forums are not just confined for celebrity gossips and for entertainment purposes. These techniques of communications are effective and can be and were found helpful in bringing social and political change in the Middle East. Various studies showed that, after 2010, numerous political movements utilized the medium whereas majority of protestors were relying on it as scheduled different protests through it and brought huge revolutions in the region (Stewart; Adi). This adaptation of social media in the Middle East is a clear indicator of the fact that the Internet, particularly social media, is a great tool of activism. People in the region, brought changes on the governmental level on their own through these technologies. For example, when a woman posted a video on YouTube and created a Facebook page and asked people to gather at Their Square to protests against the corruption, police brutality, and to bring down then President Hosni Mubarak’s government. The social media served as a main platform for her and the video went viral throughout the world. It was with the help of social media that the thousands of protestors gathered at Their Square (Adi). To note, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media websites are not the core medium of revolutions and communications during the Arab Spring but it has served as the main organization tool as the protestors used it for spreading the message (Adi; Shehadi and Bhargava). The media freedom, which was never granted in the Middle East for decades, was soon embraced after social media was adopted as the main channel for communication by majority of individuals. This eventually led to the Internet freedom and the freedom of expression in the country. Now just like any other country in the world, (precisely the West), the Middle East is also not left behind and is catching the technologically advanced social media techniques to communicate with each other and with the world (Stewart). It should be noted that, such freedom of expression and social media activism have been criticized by many individuals not only in the Middle East but also throughout the World. According to the critics, such content that is posted and shared on the Internet is generalizing the concept of digital democracy. On the other hand, it has also been said that the social media has not been helpful in bringing revolution to every Middle Eastern state during the Arab Spring. There were other factors as well that contributed towards it. For example, the continuous live coverage of BBC and Al-Jazeera of the Egypt 2011 revolutions avoided violence to a larger extent, however in the case of Libya, where lack of coverage became the reason of widespread violence, social media did not actually help in avoiding such a situation (Holtschke). Even after social media has now been largely accepted in the Middle East and the traditional methods and techniques are now being replaced as freedom of expression and freedom of the Internet has been granted in the region, one thing that is still not allowed and is strictly punishable is criticizing the Emir or sharing or posting any content that is anti Islamic or blasphemous. The people of Middle East have generally and happily accepted this and the authority remains in the hand of the government. The public has never questioned anything in this regard and have always showed unity if someone have posted / shared any anti Islamic content over the Internet (Shehadi and Bhargava; Al-Obaidi). The social media proved to be a turning point for the Middle East after 2010. During the revolutions when the pictures and images that showed the current situations and what was going on in the nations at that very moment, captured the attention of the international community as well. It completely transformed the Middle Eastern media history and the perspectives of the people in the region. However, the debate, whether social media has been the primary tool in initiating the Arab Spring or not is still argued internationally; regardless of the fact that social media has played an important part in the bringing revolution in the Middle East (Shehadi and Bhargava; Adi). To conclude, it can be stated that Middle East is not the only country that is experiencing changes and transformation in technology and so is its media, the most affected are the Western countries where social media has been greatly adopted a major tool and a useful and reliable source of information as well as entertainment. However, the Middle East is not left behind and does not have rough relationships with its media anymore as the situations are changing. The recent years have been favorable for the media and positive changes have been observed regarding the freedom of media and the freedom of expression in the region as more people are relying on for credible news transmissions through it. The advent of social media has completely transformed the reshaped the image of media in the Middle East. Works Cited Adi, Mohammad-Munir. The usage of social media in the Arab Spring : the potential of media to change political landscapes throughout the Middle East and Africa. Berlin: Lit, 2014. Print. Al-Obaidi, Jabbar Audah. Media Censorship in the Middle East. New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2007. Print. Carrington, Daisy. "Middle East media surveys find mix of freedom, controls and contradictions." 5 August 2013. Web. 13 May 2014 . Gelvanovska, Natalija, Michel Rogy and Carlo Maria Rossotto. Broadband networks in the Middle East and North Africa : accelerating high-speed Internet access. Washington, D.C: The World Bank, 2014. Print. Holtschke, Eric. The Role of Media during the Arab Spring with Particular Focus on Libya. Munchen: GRIN Verlag, 2013. Print. Oates, Sarah. Introduction to media and politics. London: Sage, 2008. Print. Shehadi, Ramez T and Jayant Bhargava. "The digital and technological ties uniting Middle East generations." 28 November 2013. Web. 13 May 2014 . Stewart, Dona J. The Middle East Today: Political, Geographical and Cultural Perspectives. New York: Routledge, 2012. Print. Read More