the internet, social media, and political information
TRANSCRIPT
The Internet, Social Media, and Political Information
The Internet
Low cost informationEnd of geography
“Recent” precedents: information and communications technologies
Ayatollah Khomeini’s tape cassettesThailand’s 1992 mobile phone mobArab Spring and social media
Southeast Asian cases
The Internet and the end of Suharto’s rule in Indonesia in 1998
Social media to boost the political opposition in Singapore
Use of Internet, social media, community radio in Thailand
Lecture plan
Impact of new technologies on politics How these media have been used in SEA
Focus on:IndonesiaSingaporeMalaysia
Impact on new movement politics in ThailandQuality of political information
how much should citizens knowquality of deliberations
Information and politics
AccountabilityBoosting the supply of informationElite strategies
Keep them in the darkDraw the fangs of the mob
Medium as message
Internet as social mediumReinforcing trends toward privacy
niche audiencesDeliberative engagements?
Democracy and citizens’ knowledge
Citizens as votersCitizens as active participants in their politiesMinimal knowledge requirements of citizens
as voters
Making democracy meaningful
Defining democratic competence downCues from leadersHeuristic devices (ideology)
Enabling citizens’ political communications
Newspapersfinding one another
Ubiquity of Internet and social media in SEA
ASIA INTERNET USAGE AND POPULATIONASIA Population
( 2011 Est.)Internet Users,
(Year 2000)
Internet Users,
Latest Data
Penetration(%
Population)
User Growth(2000-2011)
Users (%)in
AsiaBrunei Darussalem 401,890 30,000 318,900 79.4 % 963.0 % 0.0 %Cambodia 14,701,717 6,000 255,660 1.7 % 4,161.0 % 0.0 %Indonesia 245,613,043 2,000,000 39,600,000 16.1 % 1,880.0 % 4.3 %Laos 6,477,211 6,000 527,400 8.1 % 8,690.0 % 0.1 %Malaysia 28,728,607 3,700,000 16,902,600 58.8 % 356.8 % 1.8 %Myanmar 53,999,804 1,000 110,000 0.2 % 10,900.0
%0.0 %
Philippines 101,833,938 2,000,000 29,700,000 29.2 % 1,385.0 % 3.2 %Singapore 4,740,737 1,200,000 3,658,400 77.2 % 204.9 % 0.4 %Thailand 66,720,153 2,300,000 18,310,000 27.4 % 696.1 % 2.0 %Timor-Leste 1,177,834 - 2,100 0.2 % 0.0 % 0.0 %Vietnam 90,549,390 200,000 27,855,711 30.8 % 13,827.9
%3.0 %
Indonesia
Convivial mediumlow costease of usebroad availabilitydifficulty of monitoring, censoring
Cyber-civic spaces battling suburbs, mobility, privacy
Bringing down Suharto, 1998
Highly monitored societyTurn to the InternetInformation cascades
Information campaign
Suharto as enemySolidarity among his opponents (ephemeral)State in corrupt handsSociety able to organize itself independent of
the state
scandals
Social media bringing attention to malfeasance
Boosting turnout in demonstrations
Malaysia
Considerable censorshipUtusan Malaysia and the NEPMalaysiakini news websiteSocial media amplifying offline chatter
2008 elections
Barisan Nasional lost its two-thirds majorityEffective use of Internet, blogs, SMS, YouTube, listserves
Bersih 2.0
July 9 rallySocial media expanding circle of participants
Singapore
More Facebook users than votersNicole versus Pei Ling“a watershed for social media”?
Conclusions
More informationEphemeral coalitions?
Additional readings?
Trendnovation Southeast Asia issue on “Digital Politics,” September 2010, www.trendsoutheast.org
Merlyna Lim, “Cyber-Urban Activism and the Political Change in Indonesia,” in EastBound Journal, 2006, http://www.eastbound.info/journal/2006-1
www.malaysiakini.com