Social Media And The Arab Spring - 1455 Words

According to the data from Arab Social Media Report 2011 by Mourtada and Salem, the number of social media usage increased immensely during the Arab Spring period from January 1 to March 30. The number of Facebook users in the Arab nations has almost doubled since the same time, up from 14,791,972 (as of April 2010) to 27,711,503 (as of April 2011) (Mourtada and Salem 9). Similarly, at the first three months of 2011, the number of tweets increased from 55 million to 155 million a day (Mourtada and Salem 15). The Arab Spring was a series of democratic revolutions in the Middle East that cause of the governmental change in some Arab countries. During the Arab Spring, four of the world s authoritarian leaders - Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak of Egypt, Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya - were ousted after decades in power (Howard and Hussain 3). Social media have played not just an important role, but also an effective tool tha t cause of the success of the Arab Spring and beyond. In order to get an effective and quick uprising as the Arab Spring, activists used social media to disseminate their democratic thoughts, mobilize protesters, and organize their activities. First, social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Weblogs where the activists attracted not only the protesters in their country but also the international attention. For example, on Dec. 17, 2010, Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia - Mohamed Bouazizi, aShow MoreRelatedSocial Media And The Arab Spring1447 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Arab Social Media Report 2011 by Mourtada and Salem, the amount social media usage increased immensely during the Arab Spring period from January 1 to March 30. The number of Facebook users in the Arab nations had almost doubled, up from 14,791,972 (as of April 2010) to 27,711,503 (as of April 2011) (Mourtada and Salem 9). Similarly, in the first three months of 2011, the number of tweets increased from 55 million to 155 m illion a day (Mourtada and Salem 15). This increase in social media usageRead MoreUse Of Discourse And Social Media Within The Arab Spring1524 Words   |  7 PagesKong and Occupy Nigeria are just a few that were inspired by the Arab Spring. Looking at the Arab Spring in terms of ideas of power is a useful framework because it enables us to gain information which could be useful for future occupy movements as well as giving us a different interpretation to that of the social norm. We will then be able to connect that newly analysed idea of power with obedience and disobedience within the Arab Spring. Power is often seen as being held by those in authority positionsRead MoreThe Arab Spring1286 Words   |  5 PagesThe Arab Spring is a new term tossed in December 2010, and it covers all kinds of riots, demonstrations and civil wars recently going on in the Arab world. The Arab Spring has established; the power social media can have when applied in social and political scenario. In just a short period of three years, there were changed regimes in four Arab countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen). There were protests and demonstrations in other Arab countries like Bahrain, Syria, Algeria, Iraq, Jordon, KuwaitRead MoreThe Eyes Of The Modern World Have Long Borne Witness To1510 Words   |  7 Pagesoppression. Widespread demonstrations and protests began in the middle of December as Middle Easterners began to take action against their governments. This movement spread all throughout the Middle East and would eventually become known as the Arab Spring. In the Middle East, speaking against your government is an act of treason, this compounded by government censorship has left Middle Easterners socially isolated; as such, one might assume that this would create difficulty in any attempt to organizeRead MoreThe Political Power Of Social Media923 Words   |  4 PagesAs of 2015, Facebook and Twitter have a total of 1.49 billion and 304 million active users respectively. This rapid rise and popularity of social media has allowed for the dispersion of ideas quickly and effectively on a global scale; in such a way that is unparalleled to any time in history. Therefore, the rise of social media has created a new, immensely powerful form of Civil Society Two. A form that has the ability to create political unrest and outright revolution in the modern states. In referenceRead MoreThe Portrayal Of Women During The Arab World1651 Words   |  7 Pagesin the media is a global phenomenon that many nations, countries and cultures struggle to find equality in the portray al of gender throughout media systems. The Middle East and the Arab World is no exception to this phenomenon, recognizing and contributing to the negatively portrayed images of Arab women represented in the global mass media. For my research paper, I chose to focus on how women in the Arab World are breaking boundaries of these negative stereotypical images, while using social mediaRead MoreThe Arab Spring : Anti Government Protests851 Words   |  4 PagesThe â€Å"Arab Spring,† was a chain of violent and nonviolent anti-government protests that spread in the Arab world in 2011. This movement was widely popular and appealing to the people participating in these protests. The Arab Spring symbolized patriotism and giving citizens a chance to remove unjust, corrupt leaders, social and economic unrest, and demand more rights. It was a universal message that was put forth through a series of major international events. Many had positive outcomes which madeRead MoreThe Arab Sprin g And The Middle East And North Africa936 Words   |  4 PagesThe â€Å"Arab Spring† is the revolutionary wave of protests and demonstrations in the Arab World, in both the Middle East and North Africa. These waves and protests were done both in peace and violence, and up to this day with the exception of Tunisia there is no clear sign if the Arab Spring is successful or not. The Arab Spring were caused by many different factors, differing from the way the Arab world was split in the end of the Cold War disregarding the different factions in the region, to the injusticeRead MoreThe Arab Spring And The Middle East1511 Words   |  7 PagesThe Arab Spring refers to the revolts that arose independently and spread through the Arab country in 2011. The origin of these uprisings was in Tunisia late in the year 2010 and spread to other nations in the Arab world like Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. The Middle East commonly considered to be the hot-spot for tensions and instabiliti es. The Arab spring increased the level of tension in the states with several implications on the region’s security. The events of the Arab Spring lasted for threeRead MoreSocial Media Is Controlling Politics919 Words   |  4 Pages 1- Social media is controlling politics The idea of the â€Å"global village† today comes true with the rising power of the social media. A Chinese citizen settling in France can easily contact his American friend by the massive number of phone applications. Nowadays, social media isn’t only a tool to socialise, but it turned to be a remarkable way to protest, discuss, and choose your governors. Barack Obama has gained widely from Facebook in 2008 and 2012 elections; he was a pacesetter