It would be interesting to see whether social media sites like Twitter or Facebook can determine the way people vote in India. A recent study predicted that Facebook might actually influence the results in 120 lok Sabha constituencies in the next general election
There has been a lot of drama on social media of late, particularly on Twitter where the ‘fight’ between supporters of Narendra Modi and those of Rahul Gandhi are touching comedic levels of inanity.
Whatever happened to the good old days when political opponents went at each other with sticks and stones instead of abusing with their keyboards, sitting in air-conditioned roomsIJ At least we can depend on the good folks of West Bengal and Kerala to continue giving us a regular dose of ‘proper’ political violence.
This article might seem ironic coming from someone who himself is quite active on social media. Yet, it is extremely irritating to see the depths to which the levels of public discourse online have fallen. Not that they were very high to start with, but the internet is and remains an excellent content and information discovery medium.
For those of us who do not believe in the concept of reincarnation, we know we have a finite amount of time in this world. We are also a very fortunate generation, in India as well as the rest of the world. In the last 35 years we have moved from having our daily dose of information delivered to us on a radio to being perpetually plugged into a massive amount of data through smart-phones. Isn’t the fact that you could today store every single song you have ever listened to on a device not much more than an inch-square, still amaze youIJ
Yes, the internet has made it very easy to propagate hate and misinformation; that a small group of people can effectively do what has been on display in Kashmir Valley. It has also made it very easy for sycophancy to occupy the centre-stage. And this is on either side of the political spectrum in India. Hardened viewpoints by fairly loud individuals are making it almost impossible for those with opinions in the middle to be heard.
Sadly, this is one area where Indian online discourse is rapidly copying that in the United States, where people are either followers of ‘Socialism’ or are ‘Gun-lovers’. The fact that the ‘middle’ usually occupies the largest volume of people who vote, and people who genuinely have valid concerns about both sides; or, in India’s case, several sides of the picture; this often gets lost in the screaming and slanging on both sides.
The issue of online ‘trolls’ is also misunderstood. Trolls are fictional creatures from the netherworld, and in the internet space they are the ones who actively abuse or put up hate speech. The problem with a highly polarised discussion online is that anybody who disagrees with someone’s point of view is dubbed a troll. This ignores the fact that quite often the person who originally posts something that others find offensive is posting what can classically (in internet terms at least) be dubbed as ‘flamebait’.
But if a person has a hardened point of view, anything and everything, even trying to involve them in reasoned debate is ‘flamebait’. look at the angry reactions by members of America’s gun-lovers to any discussion on gun control after the tragic shooting in a primary school in the State of Connecticut.
Make no mistakes, the internet is a highly democratic space where even the ‘little guy’ whose voice was lost in a world dominated by what we today call ‘mainstream media’ can be heard. The problem is that today, even his or her voice is getting lost in a maelstrom of personal abuses and threats of violence under the garb of free speech. No definition of ‘free speech’ anywhere in the world protects hate or threats of violence.
But all this posturing brings us to a larger question at hand. Can social media sites like Twitter or Facebook actually determine the way people will vote in elections in IndiaIJ A recent study by a consultancy firm predicted that Facebook might actually influence the results in 120 lok Sabha constituencies in the next general election.
There is a cautionary tale here, that of Pervez Musharraf, former President of Pakistan. Now, those of us who have had the misfortune to hear ‘Pervy’ at length, and he has spoken at length in New Delhi quite a few times, know that this man’s ego is humongous. His decision to return to Pakistan to ostensibly ‘save’ that country was driven in no small part to the support he garnered on Facebook. Not surprisingly, few, if any, of Pervy’s Facebook fans, turned up to support the man as the Pakistani judicial system took its revenge on the man.
It is very easy to support something or anything online, a single click of the mouse button or a touch on a tablet does not equate to actual on-ground support. That said, India has one of the world’s fastest growing online user base, with thousands of new users added every hour thanks to mobile data networks. These new users are all potential voters, even if some of them gain voting rights in a few years time.
Can they be influenced by the jaundiced political discourse on Twitter and FacebookIJ All that remains to be seen. Despite being one of the most connected cities in India, voter turnout in Bangalore was not at the level one would have estimated if one was always on Twitter. There is a lot more to be done to convince those in the middle to vote for either side. One way to do that would be to run more effective ‘get out the vote’ campaigns and possibly tone down the level of rhetoric. At the end of the day, it makes no difference who we support at the polling booth, because we are all Indians.
The internet has been extremely useful in creating new fund-raising and business opportunities. Recently, Kickstarter, a service by which start-ups, whether they are internet-based companies, gaming companies or even movies can raise funds from the public, has been a huge hit online. When it comes to politics, however, I feel it might be some time yet before the internet plays as vital a role as some believe it might play.