“The Impact & Implications of Social Media on Modern Day Revolution: A Comparative Study of the dynamics of Egypt & Pakistan”

Maheen Ghauri+

Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Kiyani Shaheed Road, Saddar, Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract: Social Media is defined as the use of web-based technologies that have revolutionized the way individuals, communities, and organizations communicate today. It has enabled interactive dialogue, where communities gather online to share ideas, information, and opinions. For the first time in history, the use of social media played a critical role in facilitating revolution in the Middle East, especially in Egypt. It acted as a catalyst in facilitating protests, and creating a center of attention for the global community. The purpose of this research is to study the impact of social media in modern day revolution, tracking its use as a facilitator and catalyst in the revolution in Egypt. I have then compared and contrasted the socio-political scenario of Egypt and Pakistan, and have also studied and compared the usage and influence of social media on internet users in Egypt and Pakistan. The internet and social media usage is on the rise in Pakistan, with 18 million people reportedly having access to the internet and social media. Considering the prevailing situation in Pakistan that the public have been facing for quite some time, I have analyzed whether social media can play a similar role in facilitating a revolution in Pakistan. With approximately 50% of social media users being in the age group 18-24 years, we can see a move in the right direction in the years to come, as social media becomes a major agent of change.

Keywords: Social Media, Modern Day Revolution, Socio-political Transformation, Social media Usage, Political History, Egypt Revolution

1. Introduction

1.1 Research Problem

The purpose of this research paper is: • To study the impact of social media on modern day revolution, relating the effects and importance of

social media on revolution in Egypt. • To study the usage and influence of social media on internet users in Egypt and Pakistan. • To compare and contrast the historical and current political scenario of Egypt and Pakistan. • To analyze whether social media can play a similar role in facilitating a revolution in Pakistan.

1.2 Background

‘Social Media’ has been defined at various instances as follows: • The activities, practices, and behaviour among communities of people who gather online to share

information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational media. (Lon Safko, 2009) • The media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques [and] web-

based technologies to transform and broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues. (Wikipedia)

• New web technologies that have made it easy for anyone to create – and, most importantly – distribute their own content. (Zarella, 2010)

Social media combines two words, social, and media. To be social means to interact with and influence others in order to survive. In a traditional sense, media includes newspapers, magazines, radio, and television + mghauri@iba.edu.pk; Office: +92-21-38104701; Mobile: +92-300-2285840

49

which are one-way, static broadcast technologies. These deliver news and information through print, audio, video, and pictures. Social media, on the other hand, is primarily the conversational media in the form of Web-based applications that make it possible to create and easily transmit information or content in the form of words, pictures, videos, and audios. A blog post, YouTube video, or tweet can be created or developed, and viewed by a global audience for free. This explains the sphere of influence that social media can cover.

There are many various forms or types of social media, and since this is an emergent technology, there are new web applications being designed and developed everyday. However, the most popular ones are Blogs, Social Networks (eg. Facebook, LinkedIn), Media-sharing sites (eg. YouTube, Flicker), and Twitter.

1.3 Social Media Powering a Revolution At the end of 2010, many Arab countries in North Africa and the Middle East were facing a wave of protests.

Open areas were crowded with thousands of demonstrators who demanded freedom of speech, protesting against unemployment, poor living conditions, corruption, and the right to a democratic government. These protests eventually lead to a revolution in a few countries, and we are still in the midst of protests in other Arab countries as well.

The agitation of the public, when being heard by a larger sphere of influence, impacts the global community at large, thus pressurizing the Government. For the first time in history, the use of social media and mobile phones played a critical role in facilitating these protests. Not only was social media used to facilitate these protests, but it acted as a catalyst in creating a center of attention for the global community at large. Countries that may have not been aware of the problems in these Arab countries were now focused on their issues at hand.

Since reporters and journalists were banned from these protests, and were not allowed to participate or report any information, the news was disseminated through social media and cell phones. SMS messages, Tweets, and Facebook were used for to communicate and organize group protests in the form of crowds and marches. This resulted in banning the use of the internet, and switching it altogether. But videos were made using mobile phones, and later uploaded on YouTube, the popular media-sharing site. This site was also used to upload videos of torture and violence to put more pressure on the Government and global communities. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpYH7VxYFeI)

Even though the end of 2010 saw the beginning of an era starting with the self-immolation of a street vendor in Tunisia, it was actually in Egypt that the social media phenomenon took precedence in times of modern protests.

This paper studies the impact of social media in modern revolution, tracking its use as a facilitator and catalyst in the revolution in Egypt. It then compares and contrasts the historical and political scenario of Egypt and Pakistan, as well as the social media usage in both countries. Since these countries have a lot of similarities as far as the political environment and demographics is concerned, we hope to analyze whether social media can play a similar role in facilitating a revolution in Pakistan.

2. Discussion The end of 2010 was the beginning of an era of protests and a revolution in Arab countries, when Tunisia

saw the self-immolation of Mohammad Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor on December 17, 2010. He was protesting for the confiscation of his merchandise, as well as the disgrace he felt because of him being harassed by Government officials. He then drenched himself in gasoline and set himself on fire outside the governor’s office. Bouazizi survived his initial suicide attempt. After being transported to a hospital near Tunis, he was visited by President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali before passing away on January 4. (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/101313/20110114/the-story-of-mohamed-bouazizi-the-man-who-toppled-tunisia.htm, 2011).

After his suicide attempt, unrest broke out in Sidi Bouzid. The police cracked down on the protestors, which only fueled the movement. The revolt eventually spread to the capital city. His act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution, inciting demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia. What followed was a campaign

50

of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations, and the escalating violence and opposition eventually led to the oust of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on 14 January 2011.

The reasons for the uprising in Tunisia were mainly high unemployment, food inflation, poor living conditions, corruption, lack of freedom of speech, and lack of political freedom.

2.1. Egypt’s Political History If we look at a short preview of Egypt’s political history, the first Egyptian president in 1953 was Mohamed

Naguib, which was then followed by the Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt, adopted in 1971. Hosni Mubarak was then elected as the Egyptian president elected in 1981.

The reasons for the Egyptian revolution were many. After the Tunisian revolution, people in the Middle East saw this as an opportunity to take a stand against the socio-political issues in the country. These included police brutality, state of emergency laws, lack of free elections, freedom of speech, irrepressible corruption, and a high rate of unemployment, inflation, and low minimum wages. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juWvuNEZx1A)

When the protests first started on 25th January, 2011, and the public came out on the streets, twitter was used extensively to communicate where and when the demonstrations were to be held. Within a span of just 2 days, the power of social media was felt and heard by the masses, not just in Egypt, but in countries the world over. International media channels were broadcasting the demonstrations live, and Twitter and Facebook pages were created to act as a catalyst to initiate these protests. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaEV2CPpu_E). The internet was shut down by the Egyptian government on 27th January, 2011, but anonymous internet users and mobile users played a very important role in communicating to the world the plight of the Egyptian people. With pressure building on Hosni Mubarak and his government, together with the international pressure as well, the internet service was resumed on 2nd February, and finally President Hosni Mubarak resigned and left Egypt on 11th February. A detailed timeline is given below:

TABLE 1: Egypt Revolution Timeline

Tuesday, 1/25 First Day Of Demonstrations Wednesday, 1/26 Protests Resume For Second Day Thursday, 1/27 Egypt Shuts Down The Internet Friday, 1/28 Mubarak Speaks, Says He'll Form A New Government Saturday, 1/29 Anonymous Internet Users Help Egypt Communicate Sunday, 1/30 Hillary Clinton: Egypt Must Transition To Democracy Monday, 1/31 Egypt's New Government Is Announced, Sworn In Tuesday, 2/1 President Mubarak Says He Won't Run For Re-Election Wednesday, 2/2 Internet Service Returns In Egypt Thursday, 2/3 Foreign Journalists Rounded Up Friday, 2/4 "Day of Departure" Protests Held Across Egypt Saturday, 2/5 Members Of Ruling Party Leadership Resign Sunday, 2/6 Government Agrees On Concessions Monday, 2/7 Google Executive Released In Egypt Tuesday, 2/8 Freed Activist Energizes Protests Wednesday, 2/9 Widespread Labor Strikes Throughout Egypt Thursday, 2/10 Despite Rumors, Mubarak Refuses To Step Down Friday, 2/11 Mubarak Resigns As President, Leaves Cairo

Source: (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/106653/20110130/mubarak-egypt-vandalism-president-barack-obama-youtube-twitter-omar-suleiman-ahmed-shafiq-egyptian-m.htm, 2011) (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/106660/20110130/egypt-is-online-without-internet-service-cell-phones-or-social-networking.htm, 2011)

51

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12400319, 2011) 2.2. Pakistan’s Political History

The historical and socio-political scenario of Pakistan is not very different from Egypt. These countries have a lot of similarities as far as the political environment and demographics is concerned, especially considering the prevailing situation in the country that the public have been facing for quite some time.

If we take a look at Pakistan’s political history, we can see that Pakistan has been ruled by both democratic and military governments. The first decade was marred with political unrest and instability. From 1947 to 1958 as many as seven Prime Ministers of Pakistan either resigned or were ousted. Pakistan has had three periods of military rule: 1958–71, 1977–88, and 1999–2008. Periods alternating between military regimes and democracy rule seem to substitute each other with intervals of approximately ten years, and unfortunately, democracy has not been given time to fully take root in the population. State institutions such as the judiciary system remain weak and democratic discourse has not emerged. The civil political leadership of the country is tied to the traditional feudal power structure, and the less privileged are not able to rise to political power. This has created a number of legal, political, and economic problems similar to what the Egyptians faced for many years.

To compare the demographics of Pakistan and Egypt, I have provided statistical data that gives a clear scenario of the similarities and differences of both countries:

TABLE 2: Demographical Statistics

Attribute Egypt Pakistan Population 9.5 crore 18 crore Literacy Rate 66.4% 58.2% Unemployment rate 9.7% 15% Avg. Minimum Wage Rate 6.5 USD 90 USD FAO Avg. Food Price Index 236 points 165 points Corruption Standing 98 143

The Internet and Social media penetrated Pakistan at approximately the same time it penetrated Egypt. Since the demographical statistics show a lot of similarities, I went on to study and compare the social media statistics for both countries. The details and comparison between both countries are given below in Table 3, and in Figures 1-Figure 4:

TABLE 3: A Comparison of Social Media Penetration in Egypt & Pakistan

Attribute Egypt Pakistan TV Channel 52 72 Phone Usage 51% 50% Internet Usage 17% 10% You Tube 3rd most popular website 4th most popular website Facebook 8.47% 2.32% Avg. Cost-per-click $0.3 $0.2

52

Fig

Fig.

Fig.3

. 1. User Age

2. User Age D

3. Male/Fema

Distribution o

Distribution on

le User Ratio

on Facebook I

n Facebook In

On Facebook

In Egypt

n Pakistan

k In Egypt

53

As seenPakistan an

2.3. PakiThe pre

Internet, as exceptionallast year, buto nearly 18

Public electronic mdiverse Pakplayed a rolanti-Mushar

Unforturegimes, anhand, is relamedia provin BaluchisAsians shar

3. ConAround

Facebook hnetworking

Whetheprevalent inliving condstructure in

HoweveWith the soin the age gmedia, has voice to the

n in Figures d Egypt. Mo

istan’s Medevious decadwell as a gro culture of out only appro8 million Pakopinion has

media. In thekistani commle in supportrraf blogs we

unately, Pakind manipulatatively free fided the imptan. Faceboo

re their ideas

nclusion d 67 percent has become , and virtual

er we are hean the countryditions, much

Pakistan, theer, the Pakist

ocial media ugroup 18-24resulted in t

e youth of Pa

Fig. 4.

1-4, the higoreover the F

dia Growthde in Pakistaowth of privaopenness oveoximately 10kistanis who s time and ae regime of mmunity to resting the oustere also blocistan’s election of such from censorsportant link bok and Twittand commen

of Pakistan’popular ammeet-ups. aded in the y have beenh like was e less priviletani people susage numbe4 years, therethe society bakistan. It is

. Male/Female

hest percentFacebook ma

h an witnessedate televisioner the years. 0 percent of treportedly hagain been military dictsist and go aed Chief Jus

cked”. (Rumitronic mediamedia by co

ship or constbetween variter are now nt on the soc

s populationong young

right direction cause for iin the case

eged are not astill have hopers being thee are a lot obecoming caa formidabl

e User Ratio O

tage of Faceble-female us

d the rise of n networks, bThe total nu

the Pakistanihave access to

influenced btator Generalagainst the mstice. “One Ti, 2011) a has a longorporate and traints. Whenious networkreplacing bl

cio-political s

n is under thePakistanis. I

on is a separinsecurities,

of Egypt. Uable to rise tope, as the futu same as Eg

of possibilitiandid and aue agent of ch

On Facebook

book users ier ratio is ap

f the telecombecause of wumber of moi population o the internetbecause of tl Musharraf,military rule TV channel w

g history of state interes

n emergencyks. Blogs havogs, where tsituation in P

e age of 26, It is a vital

rate issue. Tpolitical unrUnfortunatelo political poure of alterna

gypt, and withes. The dyn

udacious. Sohange, and w

In Pakistan

is in the age pproximately

m sector and which the Pakobile phone shas access tt. the power o, media play

during the was banned f

struggles agsts is evidenty was imposeve been repothousands ofPakistan

and along wspace for s

The socio-porest, unemplly, due to thower. ative and soch approxima

namic nature ocial media iwe can see a

group 18-24y 60%-40%.

the increasekistanis havesubscribers wto the interne

of social meyed a vital ro

lawyers’ mofor a short w

gainst civilit. Social meded in Novemorting the milf Pakistanis

with the growharing infor

litical issuesloyment, inflhe traditiona

cial media is ately 50% of

of media, eis on the risemove in the

4 years for b

ed access to e experiencedwas 100 milet. This amou

edia along wole in bringinovement. It

while and sev

an and milidia, on the o

mber 2007, solitary operatiand other So

wth of bloggrmation shar

s that have bflation, and pal feudal po

full of potenf the users beespecially soe and has gie right direct

both

the d an llion unts

with ng a also

veral

itary ther

ocial ions outh

ging, ring,

been poor ower

ntial. eing ocial iven tion.

54

In the years to come, as Internet and Social Media usage increases, an urbanized Pakistan and a dynamic social media can be major agents of socio-political transformation.

4. Bibliography [1] Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.org

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Bouazizi. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.org

[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12400319. (2011, February).

[4] http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/101313/20110114/the-story-of-mohamed-bouazizi-the-man-who-toppled-tunisia.htm. (2011, January 14).

[5] http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/101313/20110114/the-story-of-mohamed-bouazizi-the-man-who-toppled-tunisia.htm

[6] http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/106653/20110130/mubarak-egypt-vandalism-president-barack-obama-youtube-twitter-omar-suleiman-ahmed-shafiq-egyptian-m.htm. (2011, January).

[7] http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/106660/20110130/egypt-is-online-without-internet-service-cell-phones-or-social-networking.htm. (2011, January).

[8] http://www.technologytimes.pk/2011/07/17/social-media-and-pakistan-%E2%80%93-prospects-and-possibilities/. (2011, January).

[9] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaEV2CPpu_E. (n.d.).

[10] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpYH7VxYFeI. (n.d.).

[11] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpYH7VxYFeI. (n.d.).

[12] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juWvuNEZx1A. (n.d.).

[13] Lon Safko, D. K. (2009). The Social Media Bible. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

[14] Rumi, R. (2011, July). http://www.technologytimes.pk/2011/07/17/social-media-and-pakistan-%E2%80%93-prospects-and-possibilities/.

[15] Zarella, D. (2010). The Social Media Marketing Book. O'Reilly Media Inc.

55