Increase in Intolerance? Or Increase in Voice?

 Occupy Wall Street movement began in New York City in September 2011 and spread to more than 1500 cities globally. Arab Spring began in Tunisia in December 2010 and spread across a dozen nations in the Middle East. Anti-corruption movement in India began in 2011 and spread throughout India.

Three different movements held across three different continents

One common theme: social media.

Add to the above list the popularity of Why This Kolaveri Di, and the brouhaha caused by comments of some ‘khaas-aadmi’ and many ‘aam-aadmi’ in recent times in India, and the common theme remains the same: social media. Recent debate around tolerance-intolerance and comments of Aamir Khan are the latest addition to the list of events/controversies in which social media has played a critical role.

Social media provides a unique platform where even an aam aadmi, and not just a khaas-aadmi, can create, exchange, and share content with people they might or might not know. And it is essentially this ability to create and share content which makes social media so powerful. Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Blogger, and Google+ are few examples of social media platforms.

What sets social media apart from other communication platforms such as radio, newspapers, and TVs is that unlike these platforms, communication happens in both direction, often in multiple directions in social media. What makes impact of social media even more powerful is that all this can be done without any significant time lag. An individual can not only be a recipient of information but also a generator of information. This ability to create information on his own extremely crucial, because what it does is that it lends ‘voice’ to all, including aam aadmi, who earlier did not have an equally powerful platform to air their thoughts and had to rely on opinions or information from khaas-aadmi.

It is these three distinct features of social media: i) ability to create information: ‘voice’ ii) ability to share information, and iii) ability to do so without any time lag, which makes social media so powerful.

Social media makes democracy stronger by giving voice to one and all, rich and poor, urban India or rural Indian, of any religion, and of any gender. Social media is helping our institutions become more democratic and providing a feedback mechanism for the institutions and for the elected representatives, whether they are at panchayat level, district level, state level, or national level.

Social media is not only limited to protests and demonstrations (case of the song 'Why this Kolaveri Di' illustrates that well). Information and opinion about new product launches, new electronic gadgets, and sporting events can and is increasingly being shared with all at once, redefining existing customs. Social media, is and will increasingly provide voice to consumers and also shape their demand patterns. 

Exponential increase in number of mobile phone users in India (up from 6.7 million in 2002 to about 900 million today), advent of smart phones, and rapid growth in internet users in India have fueled the increase in voice. This voice does not have any rural or urban segregation as on social media, users in rural India have as much access to any news or content as users in urban India, and have equal chance of getting their voices heard. This ‘voice’ can be created anywhere and anytime, and can be heard anywhere and anytime. What earlier used to be discussed and talked about in closed doors or chowks is now being talked about and debated on social media. 

And in recent months, it is this voice that has increased (In mathematical terms, ∆ voice = non-zero).

India was, and continues to remain tolerant (In mathematical terms, ∆ tolerance = zero).

PS: A version of this post appeared earlier on this page