Role of Technology in Social Movement- A Case of Arab Spring Movement

Protests began in Egypt in early 2011, with a large number of people taking to the streets to protest the prolonged rule of then-embarrassed President Hosni Mubarak. The protests were a continuation of a wave of protests that had swept over most of northern Africa, including Tunisia, before spreading to portions of the Middle East, including Yemen and Syria. Many people were taken aback by the speed with which these protest movements spread across national and continental borders. The Arab Spring Movement would eventually become the social movement of the day, sweeping away all unpopular regimes. Since the emergence of Arab Spring Movement, academicians have enumerated numerous causes and factors that can possibly fuel protests and revolutions in a state. Most, however, have narrowed down to the impact of technology as a powerful tool in the social movement sagas. The special focus would be the adoption of social technology through the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and cell phone cameras, which are crucial in organizing and document the movement.
Technological advancement has certainly been one area that has shaken the world in the recent past. It is without doubt that technology currently enables people to have a near-constant stream of info which would have a bearing in one's quest for social change regardless of where they are around the globe. Through technology, people across the world of special interest to the Arab countries were keenly following the unfolding as they happen in Egypt and Tunisia. Some would even contribute through tweets and Facebook posts on specific matters of concern. It is important to understand the background of the events that led to the uprising. There was the growing need among many youths in the Arab countries that a change of guard in the leadership of such countries was necessary. Civil rights movements emerged calling for the resignation of presidents in those countries. Unlike before, technology became the epicenter of the unrest where participants in the movement were not necessarily needed to be on the protest but they would participate through online provided social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
So, what exactly did technology contributed in Arab Spring? Technology through its powerful wing of social media ensured that people yearning for the same cause across the countries were connected to free networks of association without limitations (Howard, Philip N., and Muzammil M. Hussain). Civil rights activists and people supporting the cause in countries such as Yemen, Libya, and Syria were keenly following the events unfolding in Bahrain, Tunisia, and Egypt and quickly followed suit. The penetration rate of Twitter and Facebook in these countries were shocking, as indicated by the number of tweets sent during that time (Govern, Kevin H.). Data from Twitter indicate that between forty to forty-five tweets were being sent per minute in Egypt in the backdrop of the rinsing while thirty to thirty tweets per minute were sent in Syria and Libya. More data from Twitter and Facebook indicates that Facebook had a penetration rate of twenty-two percent in Tunisia and seven percent in Egypt while Twitter had a penetration rate of one and two percent in Tunisia and Egypt respectively. This is an indication that the level of exchange of ideas through these social platforms was quite high.
The linkage that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube offered activists across the regions was unparalleled. The activists would then spread the information to the ordinary citizens on the ground for appropriate actions (Davison, Stephanie). Considering that most of the activities would be taking place in the cyberspace the level of risk exposure to the organizers and activists was quite low. The technological platform of social gives a certain degree of safety to bloggers and activists who would otherwise be arrested and tortured for the involvements in arrests. As a result, most of them could write what they felt right and appropriate for the uprising without fear of arrests. The advancement of technology meant they could encrypt their messages using pseudonyms and other identities provided by these giant social media companies making difficult for authorities to track them (Reinoud Leenders). Most people would connect with other people questing for a similar cause without fear of repression or arrest by governments, as social media gave them the necessary disguise.
Technology has brought forth the sphere of digital media, which was crucial in the uprising. Unlike print media, digital media has a certain degree of autonomy and is hardly controlled by the states; hence, they could quickly and at will dispense information relating to the uprising (Davison, Stephanie). Following the shutdown of the social media by the state, the digital media continued the role of dispensing news about the uprising. People were still accessing their websites and getting timely news and other necessary info, mostly relating to the unfolding of the uprising across the Arab nations. Videos and images relating to civil rights across the Arab countries unrests filled most of these digital media. Such videos and images reenergized the activities of activists and other persons with similar cause across the world. Reporters of these digital media platforms stationed across strategic places were relying timely images and videos, as they unfolded. People with sufficient internets were streaming live events provided by these digital platforms.
While social media and digital media were integral in the uprising, other crucial elements of technology namely mobile phones and digital cameras were equally significant (Reinoud Leenders). The limitations of networks for accessing internet allowed mobile phones to keep the uprising alive. Through cellular phones, people were able to communicate with each other, subsequently updating themselves on the unfolding of the uprising. Mobile phones and cameras became tool for capturing images and videos and circulating them through the powerful social media platforms. Information could quickly be channeled to concerned persons in matter of seconds through SMS or voice calls. In the end, even people with low internet coverage or those who would not access digital media or print media would still get information through calls and SMS.
In conclusion, it is apparent that technology has become an integral player in the social movement. As it stands, social movement and technology are detachable. Arab Spring Movement is an excellent example of how technology can be crucial in the activities of the social movement. In a matter of days, the uprising that started in Tunisia swept across the Arab nation bringing forth magnificent political changes. Were it not for technological advancement, especially in the fields of social and digital media, perhaps it would have taken decades for the movement to gain grounds and be effective. However, with technological in place, there was a direct linkage between various activists and other people with similar cause, and the outcomes were clear; the removal of autocratic leaders.

Works Cited
Davison, Stephanie. "An Exploratory Study of Risk and Social Media: What Role Did Social Media Play in the Arab Spring Revolutions?" Journal of Middle East Media, no. 11, 2015, pp. 1-33. 
Govern, Kevin H. "The Twitter Revolutions: Social Media in the Arab Spring." SSRN Electronic Journal, 2011,.
Howard, Philip N., and Muzammil M. Hussain. "The Role of Digital Media." Journal of Democracy, vol 22, no. 3, 2011, pp. 35-48. 
Reinoud Leenders. "Social Movement Theory and the Onset of the Popular Uprising in Syria." Arab Studies Quarterly, vol 35, no. 3, 2013, p. 273.