We live in a world that something is always
happening. At the same time, we want to
know all the information regarding the events as they are happening. No one wants to wait to find out or to give
news reporters time to verify their information. We have come accustom to the fact that the
information that we are initially given about any event will not be completely
accurate but we still want to know. It
is a double edge sword that anyone that is reporting the news and events of the
day have to deal with. To be ahead of
the game, you have to make sure that you are breaking a story before anyone
else.
During the uprising in Egypt, it was through social
media that many things came to light.
Many people that were staying the country were using these platforms to
let the rest of the world know what was happening in their country. It was letting their families and friends
know that they were ok but also letting the world know some of the things that
were happening that the government probably did not want to be brought to light
(Youmans 2012).
It is through social media platforms that groups that
are protesting can do this in a non-violent way. Not only is this making these movements more
ongoing, it is helping to make them more effective. In the Arab world, it is not uncommon for
there to be censors on their newscast and newspapers. That censorship is not on social media. The information that usually does not get out
to the world has been getting out there.
The world is seeing what is happening instead of just want the
individual government and their officials would like to have released (Dyer
2016).
Through the different protests that had been going on,
there were always the ones that were physically out in the streets. They were the faces of these protests. In any other time, these faces would never be
seen but with the advancements of social media, they were. Pictures and videos flooded the internet and
different media sites with what was actually going on. There was no doubt in what was being told to the
world by the individuals that were protesting because there was actual proof
being posted for the world to see (Childress 2013).
In a world that is always changing, it’s important
that people keep up with what is going on around them and the world. Although some little country may not be on
someone’s mind, what is happening to the people in that country could easily
happen anywhere. It is learning and
reading about these events that people start to understand what is happening in
the world as it is happening. These
events that have been shaping how society is today would have only be stories
if it weren’t for the technological advancements with social media
platforms. It’s through these platforms
that we know what is happening.
References
Childress, Sarah (2013, September 17). Timeline:
What’s Happened Since Egypt’s Revolution? Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/timeline-whats-happened-since-egypts-revolution/
Dryer, Gwynne (2016, January 20). Why did only one of the non-violent
revolutions find lasting success?
Retrieved from http://www.vueweekly.com/why-did-only-one-of-the-non-violent-revolutions-find-lasting-success/
Youmans, W. L., & York, J. C. (2012). Social media
and the activist toolkit: User agreements, corporate interests, and the
information infrastructure of modern social movements. Journal of
Communication, 62(2), 315-329. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01636.x
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