Social Media Growth and Politics in East Africa - Term Paper Example

Social media Growth Social Media Growth and Politics Social media is a platform in which people around the world share ideas and information. According to a recent research, internet users tend to consume much of their time on social media sites. The most popular social networks with the largest number of users include; Facebook, Instagram, and twitter. Others include Linked in and WhatsApp. Therefore, billions of people around the world can communicate making it possible to view the world as a global village. Creating an account from the social media sites such as facebook and twitter is free, making it convenient for the subscribers. Moreover, the users can connect with people all over the world with diverse cultures and traditions. Through these platforms the users can share information, pictures, and ideas (Bryfonski, 2012). Lately, there has been a rapid pace in internet penetration in African countries. It has made it possible for the growth social media in the recent years in the continent. In Ethiopia, there is quite as a low internet penetration as compared to other countries in East Africa like Kenya. Consequently, not many people have an access to social media platforms such as facebook and twitter. The Ethiopian constitution guarantees the press its freedom. However, mass media, mainly the radio and television, are controlled by the government. In the recent years, the government has occasionally jammed the signals of some broadcasters such as Voice of America. Furthermore, the government controversially jails journalists due to the fact that the judiciary is not independent. It has, therefore, made it difficult for the broadcasters to share news and information as the government controls the content the public receives on a daily basis. Ethiopia has an extremely poor telecommunication infrastructure. Recent changes have led to the introduction of mobile internet services but at very high costs making it unaffordable for many citizens. The growth of social media has been hindered by the restrictions in the access to any websites. Furthermore, the government has blocked some controversial blogs, mainly based from abroad. This has mainly been done to ensure that the bloggers do not make any contributions in local political debates. Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation is the only communication provider. Therefore, it is possible to monitor what the people residing in Ethiopia are posting online. The monopoly has led to high internet prices, making it easier for the government to put in place control measures. Market research indicates that more than ninety percent of the people who use the internet are situated in the capital, Addis Ababa. Moreover, most internet users are young and educated who use the internet for their educational research and email exchanges. The government has ensured that there is limited access to internet because of the political interests. Surveillance has reached the extent of requiring cyber cafes’ to register their customer’s names and addresses so as to monitor those involved in online activism and political blogging. There has been a recent push from the civil society and Non-governmental Groups to improve the internet literacy in Ethiopia. However, the government is not in support and is not committed to any developments. The Non-governmental groups have been particularly using social media sites for their political and awareness campaigns. For instance, the green peace campaign was extremely successful because of the role played by the social media. Furthermore, the NGO’s use commercial platforms as it is considered a cheaper way to inform the society. The Ethiopian government is authoritarian in nature (Njogu, 2007). In 2008; a new law was enacted to restrict media freedom and the impact of civil society groups. It was done to punish political rivals and make the ineffective in their push towards change. In Kenya during President Kenyatta and Moi, freedom of speech was limited. Rigging of elections was common, and corruption thrived. Prior 1991, the government barred other politicians from registering political parties. KANU was the ruling party, and it was the only party that was operational. President Moi was later forced to introduce multi-party politics due to political pressure and violence. Moreover, there was international pressure especially from donor countries, and this influenced him to allow other parties to be formed. In the 1992 and 1997 elections Moi won the elections due to the lack of political unity from the opposition leaders. Later in president’s Moi rule, he signed into law a media bill that required publishers to pay one million shillings bond to run newspapers in Kenya. Consequently, some of the publishers closed down their operations. This law also led to international condemnation as some considered it draconian in nature. Moi’s government jailed journalists and other civil activists who were tortured at the Nyayo chambers if their views contradicted those of the government’s law. President Moi’s era was considered dictatorial, and his twenty-four year rule was marked by a lot of controversies. Politics in Kenya took the worst turn during the post-election violence of 2008.This was after Mr.Kibaki was declared president controversially. Raila Odinga, who was the opponent, alleged that there was electoral manipulation and called for mass action. Ethnic violence erupted, and the Kikuyu and Luo tribes began fighting. In a period of about a month, large number of deaths was experienced all over the country. People were fighting each other for land resources and this led to internal displacement as people were being evicted from their homes. Kofi Annan brought the opposing sides on the table and negotiated for a peace deal. In February 2008, Mr. Kibaki and Raila Odinga signed a power-sharing deal, creating a national coalition government. Mr. Kibaki became president while Raila Odinga was appointed as the prime minister. The post-election violence had adverse impacts on the Kenyan economy. The violence worst hit the Tourism sector. Kenya attracts more than one million tourists yearly that equates to millions of shillings. The ethnic violence scared away tourists due to the state of insecurity at the time. The tourists that were already in the country took flights back home. The civil unrest at the time also impacted the economy negatively as foreign investors could not risk investing in Kenya. Businessmen incurred huge losses since the rioting youth were burning and looting the businesses. Kenya is considered one of the largest flowers exporters in the world, competing with countries like Israel and Colombia. Flower exports during the post election violence, reduced by nearly forty percent and the farmers experienced massive losses. The victims of the post-election violence have not received any justice to date. Moreover, some of the victims are still living in internally displaced camps and have not been resettled by the Kenyan government. The elected president Uhuru Kenyatta and the deputy president William Ruto were accused of crimes against humanity. The charges include; forceful deportation, torture, murder, and persecution. The case against President Kenyatta failed to reach the trial stage since the prosecutor did not have enough evidence. The prosecutor accused the Kenyan government of failing to co-operate with the court and provide them with the required information. However, deputy president’s and former radio presenter Arap Sang cases are still ongoing. In Kenya, millions of Kenyans engage daily in social media platforms. Facebook has the most number of users with more than four million subscribers. LinkedIn comes in second with about one million five hundred thousand users, and twitter with more six hundred and fifty thousand users. Most of the users are based in Nairobi while a small percentage lives outside Nairobi specifically in the major towns. Social media platforms can be used to accomplish several things based on the need of the user. Politicians in Kenya have used social media to campaign for political positions. In the 2013 elections, President Kenyatta was very active on twitter and Facebook. With more than six hundred thousand followers on twitter, Kenyatta was able to lure young voters to vote for him. The Jubilee government voted in during the 2013 elections communicates to the people the planned development project through social media platforms. The public is provided with an avenue to give their views and comment on the improvements that can be done. In the last few years, East Africa has experienced a growth in the use of social media. Businesses have embraced social media platforms to market their products and services. Large companies like the East African Breweries use social media to get a regional exposure for the different brands of beer and wine. It has in turn led to increased sales of the wide variety of products. The marketing departments of various companies around East Africa utilize the social media platforms like facebook and twitter t to advertize their products and to attract potential customers. Social media has also created an avenue whereby employers can advertize for job vacancies. Many people have been able to find their current jobs that had been previously advertised in social media platforms. For instance, LinkedIn creates a platform where people from different careers interact in the East African region. Employers list vacant positions in their organizations and can also look for potential candidates based on the qualifications. Employers can also conduct pre-employment screening based on the information they find online about a particular candidate. This is to ensure that only real professionals fill the vacant positions. Moreover, the employer can gauge an applicant’s suitability based on how they conduct themselves on their facebook and twitter handles. Many employers are usually very interested in an employee’s social media abilities especially when looking for marketers. It is mainly to ensure they are able to attract more customers. In conclusion, East African countries are politically stable. Somalia is the only country that is facing civil unrest because of the presence of Al Shabab militants. Military troops from Kenya and Ethiopia have been deployed in Somalia to maintain peace and to eliminate the Al Shabab terror group gradually. They also have a mandate in ensuring that the current transitional government in Somalia is running its operations smoothly. Social media is crucial for the development of the East African countries. People within these countries should interact more to reap the benefits that social media presents. The respective government should play their role in ensuring that the telecommunication infrastructure is adequately developed. References Bryfonski, D. (2012). The global impact of social media. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press. Njogu, K. (2007). Songs and politics in Eastern Africa. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Mkuki na Nyota References. . Read More