Do you like where technology is taking society?
- Thread starter Hades
- Start date
I'm impressively shaved tyvm, and i'm bitter because this country is a massive ******** because of a generation of old NIMBY's and violent hooliganism over a bloody spherical object.
It's certainly been used to present alternate points of view to those the local government would like. But I don't think that's a very organic thing, more a tool used by outside forces. Show me any modern take down of an authoritarian regime that is native rather than than fostered by foreign powers with an interest in overthrowing that regime. I'd be interested if you can come up with one.
Just look at the Arab spring, starting off with protests in Tunisia.
US-based NGOs were sponsoring and organizing multiple activist groups at the time. Would be interesting to see how things had gone in Tunisia without US support for the activists. One of the best answers to the question, I think, but even so had foreign powers as one of the drivers of it.
There are plenty of NGOs in various countries, they weren’t anything new, the “digital revolution” in Tunisia started internally when a protestor set himself on fire.
I never said they were new. In fact, that's kind of my point.
There are always events that can be used as the catalyst. My point is that even in the case of Tunisia, the revolution ascribed to Social Media is in fact aided and often instigated by foreign powers.
I don’t think it was instigated by foreign powers, it was a popular uprising sparked by a protestor setting himself on fire. The fact that NGOs or the US govt had been pressing the Tunisians for reform etc.. doesn’t take away from the fact that the “digital revolution” in Tunisia was coordinated by Tunisians over social media, took the world by surprise and inspired other popular uprisings against authoritarian regimes.
Just because an event/flashpoint pushes the herd over the proverbial wall, doesn't mean said event wasn't built on a ladder of imperialist policies/foreign interference. The fact is pretty much every event in the region has been enhanced several fold by the last two centuries of British/French power plays, Communist/Capitalist ones and more recently the breakdown of all of that as the establishment more or less stop's caring beyond saving face in a myriad of mistakes throughout culminating in the current landscape.
The fact is that since the Ottoman empire fell, they've been servants of greater powers, their individual action's are largely meritless - proof being that all those nations are either ******** to live in or more authoritarian than previously.
The only solution i can come up with is if Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel all come under more liberal governing, or they all have Nuclear weapons.
The latter is 99.99% more likely.
The fact is that since the Ottoman empire fell, they've been servants of greater powers, their individual action's are largely meritless - proof being that all those nations are either ******** to live in or more authoritarian than previously.
The only solution i can come up with is if Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel all come under more liberal governing, or they all have Nuclear weapons.
The latter is 99.99% more likely.
How is it "imperialist"?
The point is that it was instigated organically and was helped by/coordinated over social media.
Likewise look back further in time, the introduction of the printing press and the effects of that bit of technology that allowed information to spread quickly.
I'm not saying it was instigated in the case of Tunisia. I'm saying that it was aided and encouraged by foreign powers, which is usual. I'm saying that it often is instigated in the general case. Basically, I'm disagreeing with the idea that Social Media is a primarily a tool for native, organic opposition and saying it is more often a tool exploited by foreign powers to create the impression of such.
EDIT: Although I now see StriderX is semi-agreeing with me, so I could be wrong.
Can you be more specific though - to what extent?
Yes NGOs pushing for democracy and human rights exist, yes we can see from Wikileaks that the US State Department had been doing behind closed doors exactly what it purports to do re: pushing for democracy, human rights etc.. in these countries.
But you asked for an example of a native revolution at that is an example of one and it relied a lot on social media.
This is what bothers me the most currently. The constant need to share this perfect life snap shot to people.
I only use Facebook chat now, gave full Facebook up many years ago but still have a group I use to chat.
Instagram I was there from the start and kept it private. Its good for following things I'm interested in and sharing some photos to my immediate family and close friends.
Having been on holiday recently to a lovely resort in Mexico, the amount of insta-babes wearing next to nothing and posting these photos online was alarmingly high.
Never signed up for Social media, don't get it. Are forums classed as social media? I am unsure as they existed long before the term was coined.
The damage to the children is evident already, long term, who knows? I find political use of sm toe curling cringeworthy, aka dumbing down. Yet you are expected to interact with others over sm, no thanks.
The damage to the children is evident already, long term, who knows? I find political use of sm toe curling cringeworthy, aka dumbing down. Yet you are expected to interact with others over sm, no thanks.
Don't get me wrong, it's nice to see this while sipping cocktails by the pool, but that's where it should end.