Social Media Power: Transforming Youth into Well-Informed Citizens

With thousands of applications, websites, and other communication platforms that are all over the internet today, this has truly become the age of social media. Social media has become so much more than merely a tool for chatting and uploading pictures. “Influencing” has become its biggest strength. Social media power has changed people, especially the youth, into well-informed citizens of society.  It provided information regarding all the latest happenings in every field around the world and has also helped reshape their opinions and take well-informed decisions; be it a mundane decision about buying a new shirt or as serious as supporting a political party or a cause.  

This growing use of technology and social media has heavily influenced youth and its understanding of the world. They believe that social media is a force for change.    The Russia-Ukraine war is considered the first ‘World Cyberwar I’ that truly shows the might of social media. Despite being a much smaller country, Ukraine has managed to push Russia to the wall by turning the whole world against her through its social media campaign. But that isn’t the first instance where social media made a historic impact on an international level. The Arab Spring is perhaps one of the best-known examples of how social media can change the world. The Turkey coup of 2016 was also defeated through social media mobilization.

The Russia-Ukraine war is considered the first ‘World Cyberwar I’ that truly shows the might of social media

A few years ago the term “keyboard warriors” was used in a satirical sense for people who raised their voices for any social issues on social media. They were mocked for only posting on social media and not doing anything in reality. That perception has changed now. Today, people who actively use social media to create awareness about social issues are highly esteemed and called “social media activists”. They have thousands of followers who trust and respect them.

Pakistan is the fifth largest nation in terms of population with 63 percent of its population comprising youth between the ages of 15 and 33 years. These young people have become quite passionate about the use of social media. Bullying, cyber-crimes, and fake news aside, social media has given youth a voice like never before. It is their go-to place in every situation; whether they are happy, sad, angry, or bored they take salvage in the digital world of social media for catharsis. Similarly, people turn to social media for instant updates for insights and information about all the latest trends and events.

Social Media Power:  “Influencing” has become its biggest strength

Social media platforms are rapidly growing and will evolve further as the newer technology using metaverse, web3, 5G, and IOT unravels. Pakistan is catching up fast with 61 million internet users as of January 2021. This shows an increase of over 11 million just between 2020 and 2021. According to the “We are social 2022 report”, there are 43 million users on Facebook, 70.71 million on YouTube, 18.26 million on TikTok, 13.75 million on Instagram, and 3.40 million people on Twitter. Whereas, Snapchat had 18.80 million users in Pakistan in early 2022.

With more and more people turning towards social media, everything is becoming digital. People especially youth are not only using social media for entertainment and communication purposes but are also using social media to make important decisions. The impact is not limited to shopping choices only, rather social media has equipped Pakistanis to be active citizens of society.

In a country such as Pakistan, the culture of “Breaking News” has taken deep roots in society, News and information are shared on social media way before television news channels. Users especially young people take to social media to express their opinion on the burning topic. These views are also shared with a hashtag which instantly makes the news a trending hit. Feminism, child rights, politics, rape, murder, kidnapping, and all other social issues are brought to light and openly discussed on social media. When a 23-year-old university student in Mardan was lynched to death by an enraged mob over charges of alleged blasphemy, the case gained severity as the events unfolded on social media.  After the historic Panama Verdict of the Supreme Court, more than 10 million tweets in Pakistan were generated within two days of the judgment. According to many social media users, the otherwise influential perpetrator of the brutal murder of Nook Makhdoom was only convicted due to the pressure built up through social media.

Feminism, child rights, politics, rape, murder, kidnapping, and all other social issues are brought to light and openly discussed on social media

The use of social media has not only transformed into active and well-informed citizens but has also created a positive impact on their political awareness and participation. In the 2018 General Elections, history’s highest turnout was witnessed where a large number of young voters cast their votes. At the same time, social media also created a level-playing field for new political leaders who have less mainstream media access. Alamgir Khan started a campaign, “Fix-it” in 2016 against the inability of authorities to cover Karachi’s manholes that were left open for way too long. It basically highlighted the problems faced by inhabitants of Karachi every day. Through massive online support of youth, Fix-it has now become an organization, and Alamgir Khan became a member of the Provincial Assembly after defeating MQM leader Amir Chisti in the 2018 General Elections.

The use of social media has not only transformed into active and well-informed citizens but has also created a positive impact on their political awareness and participation

The recent turn of events in the political arena is also another example of the power of social media. The ouster of the Imran Khan government and all the related events have been under close scrutiny on social media. Each move of the involved party is ruthlessly dissected by youth and decisions are made or reversed due to social media pressure. Social media has given the power to ordinary citizens the power to question the political leader which wasn’t even imaginable in the past.

There have never been as many young people as there are today. This is particularly true for Pakistan which is considered the fifth largest young country. Until a few years ago, young people were less likely to be active citizens due to the lack of effective communication between them and decision-makers. Social media has dramatically changed that. Today, they fully understand how political institutions, economic development, public services, and social inclusion work – and nothing is more vital to a democracy to flourish and a nation to develop than a well-informed citizen. Social media has not only influenced youth’s decision-making but has also made the youth more aware and empowered by providing an outlet for a voice of change. The future clearly belongs to social media.

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