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Jun 14, 2011
Activism or lip service on social networks?
Gen Y may talk politics online but may shrink from active participation
Punchlines
APATHY is no longer cool, and we can thank social media for it.
In the late 1980s and 1990s, when I was growing up, the few young people around who were politically conscious were regarded as earnest nerds destined for the civil service, while the majority of us bought into a prevailing attitude that apparent stupidity was socially acceptable.
That generation wore Birkenstocks and an air of jaded nonchalance on serious issues. Indifference was the epitome of cool - we may care deep down, but showing it would be like wearing a pink feather boa to a funeral.
Fast forward 20 years, and you get the very opposite.
Among young, educated types these days, the kind most active on Facebook and Twitter, fashion now dictates a demonstration of engagement.
In search of validation, young people trot out their wittiest one-liners, trendiest links and most provocative 140 words, then monitor how many people 'like' or comment on them. They enjoy being regarded as opinion leaders whose posts get propagated among their networks; they take pride in how many 'followers' they have online.
In this shared space, ignorance is intolerable. What are embraced are alternative views or liberal opinions which show the world how forward-thinking and plugged in you are. So on the Internet at least, young people are anything but a politically frigid lot.
Technology has made convenient activists of us all. When just a click on a 'like' button instantly aligns you with any issue, anyone can openly associate with causes of national concern, if only superficially.
The recent Survey on Political Traits and Media Use by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) bears this out. It found Singaporeans aged between 21 and 39 to be less politically disengaged than their elders.
One aspect of the study, conducted from August to October last year, looked at a sample of 1,090 Singaporeans aged 21 and above. It found those between 21 and 39 more likely to sign petitions online than offline: 25.5 per cent did so, compared to 16.8 per cent of all age groups. Petition-signing was one measure of political participation, among other things.
The survey also found that more than 70 per cent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement 'It is more important to have good economic growth than freedom of speech'. It begs the question: How far will they go for the freedoms they say they want?
Perhaps the views published on social media are no better than furry footwear or messy hairdos; an outward display of the attitude du jour, not a sign of real conviction. Perhaps online engagement indicates the need to connect and keep up with the Net set, not activism.
Another study suggests that Gen Y's vocal behaviour is motivated by entertainment. Called 'The World Unplugged', it was released in April by the International Centre for Media and the Public Agenda at the University of Maryland. It asked 1,000 students in 10 countries on five continents to give up all media for 24 hours. They then recorded their experiences.
The study threw up similarities in the way young people worldwide approached new media. They absorbed a wide range of information on their mobile phones and the Internet - text messages, social media, chat, e-mail, Sky IM, QQ, Weibo, RenRen and more - but had little time to follow up on major news events. They tended to consume only what they came across on these channels, and were satisfied with short updates - just the headlines - for all but the most compelling events.
They did not prioritise their sources of information either. While unplugged, they said they missed the 'news', but news to them was as much about what their friends were up to as it was about information updates from other media sources.
They have now, in fact, assigned their social networks the agenda-setting role that news media once claimed as its exclusive territory.
No doubt they are linked to a sprawl of interests, but their depth of understanding remains limited - they read what their friends post, respond to what drops into their e-mail box, and send along to others only what catches their eye. A pattern of widely published views, in fact, makes social media users an easy target for marketers to spot and track user preferences.
As a barometer of activism, however, it is less reliable.
Political engagement during the recent 2011 General Election was high because its events dominated conversation. Political awareness became hip because people talked of nothing else.
Responding to the IPS survey, several 20-somethings reported a corresponding spike in politics-related Facebook postings on their peers' pages during election season. Surprisingly, they said there were more comments from those who did not usually express any interest in the topic. Many postings were 'Facebook likes', or comments of the ranting nature. But such posts died off as quickly as they sprung up after the GE.
Even so, these millennials felt, indicating a 'like' for a values argument is still more meaningful than a consumer brand or, worse, no engagement at all. Though cursory, an initial 'like' could prompt a later comment, then more active participation, they said. Of late, online activism has led to offline volunteerism, fund-raising for electoral deposits, even signing up to be counting and polling agents, so at the very least, the trend suggests that young people believe they have a say in how their country is run.
This is a good start.
At the same time, it is important not to overstate the promise of this new online engagement. Many who say 'yes' to attending 'events' on Facebook do not show up. Not all who 'like' a cause will donate to it. And there is no predicting how a Facebook 'fan' of a party or candidate will vote.
If the Gen Y are responding to politics and debate at an impressionistic level, then their social media offerings tell us merely which issues they regard as fashionable, not what they think is critical.
We can celebrate that apathy is going out of style. But it is still too soon to tell if the engagement is in the form of paying digital lip service to issues. If so, that does not make it any better.
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