IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2018 - 88

Last Word
Christine Perakslis

ocial media (SM) us-
age is increa sing
across the globe. Of
the 7.6 billion people
populating earth, 4
billion are believed to be Internet
users. Over 3 billion are SM users,
representing over 40% global pen-
etration [1], [2].
In this issue of IEEE Technology
and Society Magazine, we contem-
plate SM; we can postulate effects on
political, economic, socio-cultural,
technological, legal, and environmen-
tal (PESTLE) factors. We reviewed
how social networking sites (SNS)
are channels used to socio-politically
raise awareness and mobilize people
during elections. We reviewed opin-
ions shared by females who face
strict gender segregation rules.
We brought special focus to the
Middle East, the transcontinental
region with an estimated 130 mil-
lion active SM users (up almost 40%
from 2017) and 164 million Inter-
net users (or 65% penetration) [1],
[2]. Our authors confirmed findings
from previous studies [3]: SM users
in the Middle East describe a lack of
freedom of expression, and worry
about legal consequences when
creating and sharing content. Some
users can face fines and prison
sentences if posts are interpreted
as critical or insulting, or if photo-
graphs or videos of others are post-
ed without consent [4].
Some clerics, or others in author-
ity in this region, have blamed SM for
uprisings. Therefore, some govern-
ments block, restrict, or prohibit pop-

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2018.2837539
Date of publication: 31 May 2018

Digital Empowerment
and Socio-Political
Stability
Author Information

ular sites and services. Yet, SM are
not the causes of discontent or disaf-
fection. SM are channels of commu-
nication. Discontent and disaffection
are upstream, flowing downstream
into many various tributaries for
communication; tributaries can be
online and offline channels.
Yet, undeniably, SM continue to
prove powerful. Communication is
a formidable tool for empowerment.
Citizens can use SM to communi-
cate to influence large audiences,
to build group identity and unity,
and to expose abuses. SM can give
voice to the voiceless. People can
become empowered.
In an interconnected world, the
autocratic will continue to face chal-
lenges with the digital. Savvy users
persist to find methods to bypass
communication suppression, much
like the 46% of survey respondents
in Arab regions reporting multiple
accounts on a single SNS platform [5].
With all the suppression efforts
aimed at avoiding political instabil-
ity, perhaps the autocratic misjudge
the empowerment borne through
SM. Particularly, because empower-
ment/civic participation is believed
to be one of the four necessary con-
ditions required to achieve sustain-
able political stability [6].
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

Christine Perakslis is Associate Pro-
fessor in the MBA Program, College
of Management, Johnson & Wales
University, Providence, RI. Email:
christine.perakslis@jwu.edu.

References
[1] S. Kemp, "Digital in 2018," wearesocial.
com, Jan. 2018; https://wearesocial.com/
blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018,
retrieved Feb. 1, 2018.
[2] T. Elmasry et al., Digital Middle East:
Transforming the region into a leading
digital economy. Digital McKinsey, Oct. 2016;
https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/
middle-east-and-africa, retrieved Feb. 1, 2018.
[3] Y. Al-Saggaf, "Saudi females on Face-
book: An ethnographic study," Int. J.
Emerging Technologies and Society, vol.
9, pp. 1-19, 2011.
[4] Staff writer, "GCC national jailed for
10 years, fined for Twitter violations,"
arabianbusiness.com, Dec. 2017; http://
www.arabianbusiness.com/media/386492-
gcc-national-jailed-for-10-years-fined-for-twitter-
violations.
[5] F. Salim, "Social media and the Internet
of Things: Towards data-driven policymak-
ing in the Arab World: Potential, limits and
concern," Mohammed Bin Rashid School
of Government, Dubai, 2017; http://www
.mbrsg.ae/getattachment/1383b88a-6eb9-
476a-bae4-61903688099b/Arab-Social-
Media-Report-2017, retrieved Jan. 20, 2018.
[6] U.S. Institute of Peace, Guiding Principles for Stabilization and Reconstruction, U.S. Army Peacekeeping and Stabil-
ity Operations Institute, 2009; https://www
.usip.org/sites/default/f iles/guiding_
principles_full.pdf, retrieved Feb. 10, 2018.

∕

JUNE 2018

https://wearesocial.com/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018 https://wearesocial.com/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018 https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/middle-east-and-africa http://www.arabianbusiness.com http://www.arabianbusiness.com/media/386492-gcc-national-jailed-for-10-years-fined-for-twitter-violations http://www.arabianbusiness.com/media/386492-gcc-national-jailed-for-10-years-fined-for-twitter-violations http://www.mbrsg.ae/getattachment/1383b88a-6eb9-476a-bae4-61903688099b/Arab-Social-Media-Report-2017 http://www.mbrsg.ae/getattachment/1383b88a-6eb9-476a-bae4-61903688099b/Arab-Social-Media-Report-2017 https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/guiding_principles_full.pdf https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/guiding_principles_full.pdf https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/guiding_principles_full.pdf

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2018