Although the Internet has only been part of our collective society for two decades, the depth of its pervasion into society and culture is still being measured.
New research from the University of California Humanities Research Institute says the Internet has even become effective in shaping more socially engaged citizens. According to the study, youths who pursue their individual interests on the Internet are more likely to be engaged in civic and political issues and exposed to a diverse range of political viewpoints.
Joseph Kahne, an education professor at Mills College, authored the study and said it’s the first of its kind.
Kahne’s efforts involved 2,500 students from 19 California school districts, including more than 400 students surveyed twice — once in high school and once about three years later when they’re in college — to find a causal relationship between internet use and civic and political practices. The study examined three types of behaviors, including politically driven online participation, online exposure to diverse perspectives and interest-driven online participation, and examined how often students used blogs or social networking sites to share or discuss perspectives on social and political issues.
Interestingly, the study has come on the heels of the 18-day revolution in Egypt, which was organized in part by social networking websites such as Facebook.
“Youth participate via new media in countless ways. Those habits and skills appear to have been key supports in these protests,” Kahne said in a press release. “Both in the U.S. and abroad, so much civic and political life is online. We’ve got to pay attention to new media when we think about civic learning.”
The revolution gained steam when 31-year-old Cairo-born Google executive Wael Ghonim, the company’s regional marketing manager in the Middle East and North Africa at the time, created a Facebook group that highlighted the brutality of the Egyptian police force and called for action after the death of Khaled Said.
Said was an Egyptian activist who was beaten to death after trying to expose police corruption in the country.
Within months of creating the Facebook page, nearly half a million followers joined the group and began sharing videos and other stories of the violence in Egypt. Following the coup in Tunisia, protesters began to peacefully organize, which grew significantly in size over time. Although many of these people were scattered throughout the country, the movement picked up speed and the group’s attendance ultimately peaked in the hundreds of thousands.
“If there were no social networks, then (the revolution) would have never been sparked, because the whole thing before the revolution was the most critical thing,” Ghonim said in an interview with CBS News shortly after his release from Egyptian prison. “Without Facebook, without Twitter, without Google, without YouTube, this would have never happened.”
Crediting the Internet as an essential revolutionary tool, Ghonim said the Egyptian government’s censorship of Internet-based media under Hosni Mubarak significantly contributed to his regime’s downfall.
“If you block the whole Internet, then that’s really going to frustrate people,” Ghonim said. “One of the strategic mistakes of this regime was blocking Facebook. Why? Because they told 4 million people that they’re scared like hell from the revolution by blocking Facebook. They forced everyone who’s just waiting to read the news on Facebook … onto the streets to be a part of this.”
As a result of the coup’s victory in Egypt, protests in the Middle East have spread across the Arab world in the past month, including to Bahrain, Yemen, Iran and Libya.
Nevertheless, some believe people often pick and choose what they want to view based upon their individual interests, which may ultimately limit the kind of information they consume.
“I think it definitely helps with our awareness of what is going on, but I feel like a lot of people won’t really look into stuff unless they’re already interested in it,” University student Evelyn Horning said.
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Revolutions, new study explore extent of Internet’s power
Daily Emerald
February 27, 2011
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