MEDIA INFORMATI0N AND LITERACY

Quarter 2- Module 8
The Power of Media and Information

Additional Activities

Activity 8: Written Work

Social Media as an Instrument of Change

OCTOBER 4, 2016 / MANTIS

The 2016 Presidential Election is flooding our televisions, radios, facebook pages, and every
other form of media with arguments on the better candidate of 2 candidates from the two
parties that have governed our country for decades. We as Americans give a huge amount of
attention, arguably too much, to this race that occurs every 4 years. Each time around, people
debate and bicker about what issues are more pressing in America, and how we can solve
them, and while some tend to get very heated and passionate about these issues, at the end of
the day, the problem solving rate of the United States is very slow. While many people wish our
government would take quicker and more drastic action, at the end of the day, the slow nature
of our political system and the passive bystander citizens are proof of our nation’s political
stability, and the general well being of the population as a whole.

Khalid Albaih’s talk last week gave all of us a new perspective on an unstable political and
economic climate, how quickly societies can erupt into radical protests, and how powerful the
relatively new tool of social media can be as an igniter of revolution. Khalid Albaih, has
produced many works of art that are of little monetary value. But if you walk through the
streets of major cities in Muslim nations, you will find his work reproduced as graffiti on the
streets. Through social media, Khalid has been able to exercise a uniquely powerful voice and
be a source of inspiration for the oppressed citizens of the Arab world.

Khalid also gave us a new perspective on our good friend Facebook, a tool many of us have
used since 6th grade to post funny videos and photo albums on our walls. The way we think of
Facebook as a social tool is very different from how people from the Arab world use Facebook
as a social tool. Before the internet, people of the Arab world were socially oppressed through
strict national boarders, no freedom of speech, and a media controlled by the government. The
rise of social media gave people a voice and means of connecting with others that they never
had before, and it opened many social and political doors, mainly, in the form of sharing ideas
and organizing demonstrations.

Today, we look back on the spring of 2010, now known as the “Arab Spring,” where citizen
uprisings occurred widespread across the Arab world, with major uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt,
Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain. With free communication on the internet, citizens could
finally organize and group together to protest the horrible living conditions and social
regulations that their governments do nothing to fix. There is still much work to be done to
raise living standards in these nations, but people of this region have discovered the fact that
they cannot and will not be oppressed by their governments anymore.

Khalid is living proof that social media is arguably the most powerful instrument of change that
we have today.

Source of the news: REVOLUTIONS.com or https://web.colby.edu/

Summary about the article:

The 2016 Presidential Election is flooding our televisions, radios, facebook pages, and every
other form of media with arguments on the better candidate of 2 candidates. Khalid Albaih's talk
last week gave all of us a new perspective on an unstable political and economic climate, how
quickly societies can erupt into radical protests, and how powerful social media can be as an
igniter of revolution. Through social media, Khalid has been able to exercise a uniquely powerful
voice and be a source of inspiration for the oppressed citizens of the Arab world. The rise of
social media gave people a voice and means of connecting with others that they never had
before. Khalid is living proof that social media is arguably the most powerful instrument of
change that we have today.

Reaction:

1. Social media at events isn’t always optional. It adds value for events – goers. A report by Sparks
unveiled that events attendees have found that social media adds value to their event
experience. It’s a learning opportunity.
2. I think it important because it makes our work easier.
3. It is positive. Motor skills are improved by typing, clicking, playing games, and other tech related
finger skills. Hand eye coordination or even quick thinking can be helped. Access to mass news
media can improve reading skills.