 Welcome to a generation that is today defined by Facebook posts, Tweets, and MySpace uploads. This global youth represents a generation that is worldly, tech-savvy, and fashionably abreast of current trends. But are they any smarter? An overwhelming majority of social media users are preoccupied today with monitoring Justin Beiber’s current hairstyles than they are about political turmoil in the Middle East. Social media is not a tool of political activism for a majority of users. However, its role in reinventing social and political activism in Middle Eastern and South Asian countries is unprecedented. First and foremost, an important distinction to make is that between social media and new media. Social media refers to the tools of Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, or any one of the other millions of social networking’s tools available. New Media on the other hand, refers to digital media: an evolution of traditional mediums such as radio, print, or broadcast. With the world rapidly consumed by the Internet, digital media allows journalists and publishing firms to develop content, publish it online, and immediately execute it to a global audience. Digital media today defines a new form of visual story telling that is accessible to the world at astounding rates. From U.S based foreign policy think tanks to Pakistan based daily newspapers; every one seems to be ‘plugged in.’ While new media is not necessarily replacing traditional tools it is certainly reinventing journalism and a combination of the two could be a potent force in the face of political journalism. With global reach, new media allows people to connect quicker and create a stronger impact. Depending on who is listening or watching on the other end of course.
Social media then is a subset of new media and one that is increasingly gaining popularity and presence. Particularly remarkable about this particular social tool is that it is available to the general public without any third-party intervention. It allows an average citizen in Egypt to upload photos of a conflict on Flickr or a young boy in Kashmir to write a Facebook wall post on Indian violence and share it a with a global audience without having to meet with a publisher. With global reach and heightened interest, social media is no longer limited to high school graduates but serves as a strong marketing tool for corporations worldwide. CNN for example, includes emblematic links to Facebook or Twitter homepages for many of their popular broadcasts such as Anderson Cooper 360. Furthermore, political activists, diplomats, humanitarians and even official employees are joining the ranks of many on sites such as Twitter to connect and create awareness within the global political community. For the small percentage of social media users who harbor serious interest in social activism, the advent of social media has been revolutionary. This was no clearer than during the ‘Twitter Revolution’ of 2009 when the Iranian youth forced the world to sit up and take social media seriously. No surprise then that repressive regimes, in Pakistan or China, are the first to block access to such sites in the wake of political turmoil.
Unfortunately however, the Twitter Revolution was not only unique but also short lived. There will always be some social media activity accompanying political turmoil, whether people on the ground or outside the country write it. However, as Evgeny Morozov wrote in Foreign Policy: ‘But correlation, as well all know, doesn’t always mean causation.’ And that brings me to the main discussion of this argument: the overwhelming social media activity buzzing from the Arab World. As Ethan Zuckerman points out, it would be unwise to credit a massive political uprising to a single factor – such as the rise of social media. People did not come out onto the streets of Egypt, or Libya, or Tunisia because of a Facebook update. While social media certainly facilitated communication, and in the case of Egypt, served as a strong organization tool, it certainly did not serve as a beacon of sudden awareness against repressive rule and CAUSE people to revolt. Revolution in the Arab world would still have taken place despite social media because at the end of the day, protestors were not hailing twitter, WikiLeaks, or Facebook. They were fighting unemployment, oppression, corruption, and inflation.
Having said that, however, the presence of social media in such countries has allowed people (especially the youth) to harness such channels to emit their real frustrations to the rest of the world. This has never been more important, than in places where foreign journalists are banned entry and information is controlled. Iran, Libya, and even Egypt are all examples of state controlled media oppression. While their motives may be to fight corruption and battle unemployment, young Libyans are able to break into Secret Service headquarters today, take pictures and shoot videos, and immediately broadcast a true picture of Libya on YouTube. In Egypt, where media is closely monitored, Facebook broke the boundaries and became a way to organize revolts and mass gatherings in a country that successfully overthrew an authoritarian dictator. Politically, the power of social media is a force to be reckoned with. No wonder then, that former President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan was the first of his colleagues to activate a Facebook account and reach out to the intellectually starving and politically confused youth of Pakistan.
While social media may not be a sole cause of political revolt, it plays an increasingly strong role in publicizing a conflict. A revolution rises out of a myriad of real frustrations and not a single technological advancement. However, serving as a unifying force, as a beacon of courage, or a global medium of exchange, it is certain that this tool will create strong reverberations throughout the world. Recent revolutions and uprisings spanning Iran, Tunisia, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, and Libya have all seen considerable involvement of social media tools presenting the world a picture from within. It is the word of the average man, it is a medium of exchange, and now for many it is a plea of support. Social media has transformed the world of many in Arab countries today. To dismiss such powerful a tool and ignore so courageous a people, would not only be detrimental to our generation but merely put, fatal to our future. 
Arsla Jawaid is Assistant Editor at SouthAsia Magazine. She holds a B.A in International Relations, with a focus on foreign policy and security studies, from Boston University.
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