Revolution in the age of social media

To uncritically advocate and promote the use of social media as driving forces for democratic development and freedom of speech is problematic for multiple reasons, says Christan Christensen.

‘Simply consider who owns these so-called social media. Both Facebook and Twitter are private corporations whose primary concern is to make money for their shareholders. In Facebook, for example, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan have major investments.’

During the first three months of the uprisings in North Africa, the value of shares in Facebook rose from 50 billion to 75 billion dollars.

‘This generates power. But who oversees Facebook as a power factor? Today we are witnessing the largest accumulation of information about people in history. And it’s being done by private companies whose primary interest is making money from what they know about us. Why do we think this is OK?’ wonders Christian Christensen.

Too much faith in technology

As Christian Christensen sees it, another reason for us to be sceptical towards social media is our exaggerated trust in technology as such.

‘Uprisings and protest movements are social phenomena, not matters of information technology.’

But wasn’t “the Arab Spring“ accelerated by access to social media?
‘Yes, there’s no doubt that it was much easier to spread information and coordinate protests using social media, but the key question remains: did they make it possible to bring down Egypt’s Mubarek, for instance? You can tweet all you want, but if people hadn’t gathered on Tahrir Square, Mubarek would not have been forced to step down.’

Christian Christensen has studied the development of social media in general and recently the Swedish government’s support for this new form of technology in particular.

Assistance for Net activism

It’s now possible to apply for grants for socalled Net activism. At present there’s a list of some 100 applicants for total allocations of EUR 5 million for this purpose.

‘This is a policy that is well suited for the branding of Sweden as a pioneering country in the use of new technology in general and social media in particular. Whether it’s the right way to support democratic movements, on the other hand, is something we need to discuss further. After all, the information gathered in social media can be used against citizens. Have they already forgotten our own debate about the National Defence Radio Establishment?

How, then, should ordinary citizens view social media?
‘Don’t forget that everything you write there, each picture you upload, what you like or dislike – all the information you put on the Net – is owned by someone else and can be used for any purpose whatsoever without your consent.’