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Saturday, April 12, 2008
2:24 PM
New Media: Power to the people or threat to stability?
As can be seen from the two articles, new media is redefining freedom of speech. Nowadays, you do not need a printing press or have to be a hot shot journalist to have your views announced to the world. All you simply need is a computer with internet connection, type in your thoughts, and everyone, from
I feel that new media is both beneficial and damaging, depending on the motives of the author. Yes, it does bring power to the common person like you and me, but it can also bring threats to stability, as quoted from the article “The pervasive spread of extreme ideas on the Internet has become a great concern for the authorities and community here in Singapore” and “The Internet plays a significant role in the radicalisation process “.
New media provides a platform for citizens to publish their views on any subject, and citizen journalism is becoming commonplace. Take the example of STOMP, an interactive portal with parent newspaper being The Straits Times,
It cannot be denied that citizen journalism-based websites such as STOMP have improved the efficiency of authority’s responses to citizen feedback, but it seems that some users are nitpicking, slamming authorities for minor incidents. They too, provide biased views, based on their preferences and own experiences. Therefore, I feel that it is not just mainstream media (MSM) that is biased; articles by citizen journalists might include propaganda too. Readers should judge for themselves which articles are factual and which are merely prejudiced comments dressed up.
New media at the same time is a threat to stability, as freedom of speech allows common citizens to make comments that create animosity among different races and religions. Or in more serious cases, as featured in the second article, new media is being manipulated by extremists who recruit and influence youths in their jihadi movement. Because such websites can be set up and viewed by anyone, this poses a huge threat in the multi-racial
There are legal implications for these individuals, as in the 2005 case of 3 bloggers who faced prosecution due to their racists comments, and 3 extremists who were detained or put under a Restriction Order for their potential terrorist danger. This proves that the authorities are wise to the new outlets employed by extremists and will act on it if necessary. However, there is a limit on how many websites authorities can monitor, and also, many such websites might not be created in
Referring back to the benefits of new media, the internet “has proved invaluable as a way for concerned citizens to offer support to each other, and to act together for political and social change.” Amongst articles that may be untrue, there are some citizen journalists out there who strive to bring the most unprejudiced reports to their audiences.
New media is set to stay, and I believe that it will not completely take over the role of mainstream media, instead act as a complement to primary reports by professional journalists.
http://www.sph.com.sg/news/latest/press_070607_001.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism
Comments on previous entry: New Media by Melissa
I agree with Melissa’s views that discernment is a must. With so many differing comments on the internet, readers should not simply believe in all they read. Without filtering biased comments and personal opinions, readers would be susceptible to unsavoury information and be manipulated like puppets by the authors.