A decade ago, not a single person ever imagined social media will be able to play important role in toppling down a government today, or worse, creating a trend of it as what could be seen in Arab Spring. People spread awareness and voice concerns about governments’ performance through Facebook, Twitter, or other platforms. Injustice and scandals sell like hot cakes, leading to massive support/resistance towards an issue. An idea no longer needs a podium or pamphlets to be noticed – tweets/posts are enough. It is the era of modern participation where protesting is so handy like never before.

Online participation changes the face of protest by initiating the process of: planning for protest, which enable activists to gain support by spreading invitation and protest-plan; give participants a voice, which allow protestors to form a cohesive voice and triggering unity; boosting the outlets of news media, which offer raw look at what is really happening – unlike some polished news from mainstream medias; and connecting the people to leaders.[1] In short, protesting is getting easier, faster, and bigger.

“The significance of online protest relies on its transformation to collective action in real world, much like the ideal environment of a digital society.”

Social media development is an issue for governments across the globe. To some extent it is even considered as a threat, leading to strict limitation or a complete ban. Tunisia, Ukraine, Egypt, and even China has been experiencing how serious it is to deal with online platforms. Neglecting the potential of online protest is a big mistake because it may evolve to a real big protest and challenge stability or governments’ credibility. Yet, excessive reaction such as internet closure or the use of violence can be counter-productive since it fuels public anger and even raise wider and immense protest. Anti-riot squads and forceful oppression are no longer comprehensive solution to deter it since online-riot management is now also crucial.

Meanwhile, society/protestors needs to be more careful in using social media as a mean to do protest. The euphoria of protest needs to be maintained to prevent issue distraction brought by the opponent (read: government). Information reliability is also fundamental since disinformation may do a great job in provoking and/or misleading crowd.[2] The most important thing to understand is that social media is not a ‘final destination’. The significance of online protest relies on its transformation to collective action in real world, much like the ideal environment of a digital society. Worldwide trending topic means nothing without showing force on the street or real political pressure.

Both governments and societies should put more attention of social media-based movement. It is indeed a new arena for both to fulfil distinguished interests. Who wins depends on ability to dominate both cyber and real world.

[1] University of Southern California, Social Media and World Revolutions, , accessed 30 May 2016.

[2] M. Papic and S. Noonan, ‘Social Media as a Tool for Protest,’ Stratfor (online), 3 February 2011, , accessed 30 May 2016.