Poster Paper:
The Role of Social Media and Research in Human Rights
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Recent global events such as the Arab Spring, Hong Kong “umbrella” revolution, and the Syrian refugee crisis are only a few examples of many of how social media and research play a huge role in people’s lives. More than that, the story of social media in developing nations so far is one of individual empowerment. Social media not only connects deprived nations to the outside world, but also provides the power to shape the Internet in a way that is relevant to their peoples’ lives, the power to organize in scale, and the power to speak. These features make social media incredible tools that should be embraced by anyone with an eye towards development and equality.
The basis for developing an understanding this research will be based on the arguments of Clay Shirky and Malcolm Gladwell, two of the most well known subject matter experts in this area. As Shirky argues for the importance of social media in revolutions, Gladwell argues against the emergence of social media platforms. The research looks at both sides of the argument, its gains and losses, as it seeks to gain a better understanding of social media and research in developing nations as well as the government’s role for this matter.
This research will attempt to address the following questions: How are individuals and the government currently using social media for the purposes of human rights and social equity? How effective is the use of social media platforms? How can the government take a greater role in becoming an important voice for human rights and social equity via human rights? What are the issues and gaps that need to be addressed with the use of social media? What will be the role, responsibility, and accountability of social media in the short future to come? And what role should the government play within this?
In striving to understand these research questions, the use of social media will be explained visually with statistical numbers, description of functionality, and level of effectiveness to name a few variables. For example, it will show how tools like Facebook and Twitter can provide marginalized societies with an important tool of communication and expression. In doing so, several recent and current events will be examined to see the uses and impact of social media. Additionally, there are a number of social media platforms that are quietly changing the world. “Crowdmap,” “fivethirtyeight,”and “Hootsuite” are only a couple of numerous platforms that are striving to make a difference in people’s lives.
Finally, the role of government and research will be examined carefully. Digital media should not be limited to being a medium of information and diffusion but an important tool to promote the civic engagement and political participation of societies. The research will thus conclude with proposals for this integration
