Staying connected all the time

THE speed and reach of social media is impactful, indeed,

“But how powerful is it really?” asks Prof Ang Peng Hwa of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

“In the 2011 Arab Spring, social media played a part but it did not cause the Egyptian revolution. Social media is like a road – you still need people, vehicles and a lot of other infrastructure.”

The impact of social media, however, is huge impact in socialisation, business and politics.

“Social media, according to the classic definition, is a closed loop – like Facebook. But we’ve moved on to apps like WhatsApp and Waze where users can participate, share and chat. So, it’s difficult to define social media now,” he says.

On May 21, Sunday Star highlighted how unlike their Western counterparts, Malaysians love staying connected online so much that they won’t give the Internet a break even when on holiday.

Malaysia has the highest number of Wazers in Asia and is among the top five worldwide, and a recent survey by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) showed that an Internet user in Malaysia had an average of four social media accounts and spent about four hours a day browsing such sites.

Their top social media accounts are Facebook, with 96.5% of Internet users having a profile, followed by WeChat Moments (61.2%), Instagram (46%) and YouTube (42.1%).

More research into the pros and cons of social media is needed, says Ang. It’s not about blocking but about finding ways to work within it. Comparing social media to cars, he says the latter causes pollution and accidents, but we can’t do without it.

“It’s the same with social media. Distasteful videos and fake news are new occurrences that we must learn to manage. That’s the tricky bit.”