Let's Get Down to Business: To Defeat Tyranny

I spend most of my blogs complaining about how the internet and digital media is creating problems for society.  It can cause ‘drama’, illegal pirating, social disconnect, and privacy invasion.  But one positive effect has been most prominent in politics.  Now, I’m not one to talk about my political beliefs, because to me that’s just not important in defining a person.  However, I think we can all agree that dictatorship is bad.  This was especially the case in the Arab Spring, a revolution in the Middle East which is still going on today.

The problem over there was and is that their rulers have absolute control.  While not as bad as in North Korea, the leaders put themselves up on pedestals, asking for worship and power, killing anyone who opposes them.  Their gluttony kept them from seeing the people’s sufferings.  The people were on edge, waiting for a spark to overthrow these terrifying masters and regain their humanity.

So where does technology lie in all this?  In the youth, who were the inheritors of both the corrupt society and the saving power of global connection through the internet.  They could reach out to anyone who was willing to watch, which was also risky.  If the government found out, they could shut down the net, and their only means for help.

This new digital age is more than just iPods.  It has allowed for people to reach out, as a way to mobilize action against corruption and wrong.  While many claim that the internet is a breeding ground for lies and misinformation, it can also help to spread the truth.  When the information comes first hand, in the form of video blogs in a street full of gun fire, there’s no way to deny the reality of the situation.  The Arab World started a revolution, but the internet helped them achieve victory.

Of course, not all revolutions turn out to be good.  In this week’s reading, we learned of the ‘smartmob’, a networked group of people who can reach anyone anytime.  This was the case in the Arab Spring, London Riots, and many other recent uprisings.  While this can be used to overthrow injustices, it can theoretically be used to start them too.

Let’s take the Arab nations, Tunisia or Libya, it doesn’t really matter.  If, once the people had reclaimed the country for the people, they wanted, the people could have kept the country in a state of anarchy.  Being tired of rulers and government, they chose instead to govern themselves, with no man ahead of anyone else.  This state of chaos would therefore have come about due to the mob like mentality that smart mobs inherently have.  While it’s true that for the most part, smart mobs are benevolent in nature, the intentions can change depending on when the right to stop comes.

Celebrities and internet stars employ this kind of behavior at times too.  While not necessarily intent on changing anything, Youtubers such as Tobuscus, and especially Pewdiepie, employ an elitist view when naming their viewership.  Tobuscus calls his viewers ‘Audience’, while Pewdiepie goes so far as to call them the ‘Bro Army’.  As I said, no real significance is applied with these terms, other than identifying yourself as a fan of them, but you never know.  With viewers reaching the millions, it wouldn’t be that far to mobilize them to some sort of action.  Just some food for thought.