Maggie Rake: Conclusion
After delving into more information about the Arab Spring, it became clear to me that yes, these revolutions were enabled by globalization and an increasingly connected world. Using Twitter and Facebook to spread information allowed the protests to be seen all over the world. Tunisia’s revolution went viral, and Egypt and Libya’s young people were able to see this change through networks they connected with.
To say that this was a “Twitter (or social media) Revolution,” however, would mean looking at an incomplete view of the situation, as Western media sometimes did during this time. Social media did not sustain these revolutions. Egypt’s internet was shut down and the protests continued, and violence has gone on long after the original demonstrations went viral. What can be said about social media was that it empowered protesters through a sense of unity and empathy. Being able to reach out to people around the world with their stories inspired support and encouraged the protesters to keep going.
In this modern world where we are plugged into the grid constantly, sometimes it feels like the information we receive is overwhelming. If Clifford could rewrite his preface today, would he say that someone can travel just by liking their Facebook friend’s photos from their trip abroad while that friend is still gone? Would being connected mean Skyping with someone and instantly seeing their face from thousands of miles away? The Arab Spring offers many lessons about technology, but one is that our increasingly globalized future is not necessarily a bad thing. Travel and connection are less about the journey and more about the destination. For Egypt, Libya and many other Middle Eastern countries, the ideas that began in Tunisia and planted the seed for revolutions elsewhere had the most impact when through connection and destination, and social media helped those ideas get there.