Category: Role of Media

Almost two hundred countries are under siege by nature and in most of the Countries, governments implemented complete lockdown or curfew to stop the further transfer of deadly corona virus which started from China and took over all developed, developing and under developed countries. Rich, poor, healthy, regular patients, physically strong or even weak persons are under attack and virus is targeting everybody without any discrimination. According to updated statistics almost one million people are affected either with mild or serious health threats by Corona virus and numbers are rapidly increasing. People all over the world are either in self or forced isolation or being quarantined. Middle and lower working labor force from mechanical, technical and civil sectors is badly affected and facing financial crisis which are increasing day by day.

However, back-office and desk job working class is trying their level best to provide their services and complete assignments and projects online to meet their targets and deadlines. Professionals from sales, marketing, research, teaching and many more sectors are using modern tools of technology and different social media applications to run their routine work from their homes. The role and cooperation from top management of these sectors is also very effective and supportive during working from home situation. Although there are some public and private sectors where physical appearance in offices is necessary. But for back office work, during disasters and communicable or viral diseases, with the use of modern technology, homes are best places to work and complete back office assignments and deadlines. In current pandemic crisis, modern tools and equipment of science and technology are available so majority of working class is contributing with their efforts to run the system with zeal and zest. With these internet and smart phone facilities and high number of smart phone users, there is a lot of potentials to use modern online meeting and work from home facilities. We have online meeting, webinar and video conference call software and tools which can be used on computers and at smart phones as well. Lot of mobile applications are also available to run all these soft-wares easily on smart phones.

Use of social media can also be very helpful in current lock-down situation. Modern social media tools can also be positively utilized for work from home. All social media tools can also be utilized for marketing, sales, meeting, live streaming and meetings. Usually people use these social media tools negatively. Government should ensure that users do not use social media to create any panic or any propaganda. Keeping social distancing in mind, safe and secure online working environment is very important in current health emergency and crisis. Governments need to make full use of digital technologies to confront the COVID-19 pandemic and address a wide range of pandemic-related issues. The pandemic is compelling governments and societies to turn toward digital technologies to respond to the crisis and, increasingly, is requiring governments to adopt an open government approach and to use digital communication channels to provide reliable information on global and national COVID-19 developments. With lockdowns and other social distancing measures in effect in many countries, and with more people relying on the internet for information and advice, governments are being urged to deploy effective digital technologies to contain the outbreak. Finally I want to work to find the role of information technology during lockdown in both cases either in positive and negative in various categories.

Abstract

This article will cover the story of Turkish people who did protests in 2013 and also describe the major role of media in it. The media is playing a vital role to spread any news that ever happened in entire world. Nowadays, the people are well educated about the world circumstances, every sites and applications like Facebook, twitter, Youtube, etc are well used and easy to access these applications help people to understand the situation of the world widely.

Introduction:

In turkey thousands of people protested in Gezi Park on 27th may 2013 and this protest ended on 20th of August 2013. The people left their homes and protest because they were so tired of the government behavior, the Turkish people were not getting any democratic rights there was violation on it and there was not any public consultation. The media of the turkey claimed that three and a half of the million people were marched to the Gezi Park and during that protest it has been recorded that about twenty-two people were killed fierce fully and around eight thousands of people were injured badly. By the riot of the police near the premises of the Gezi they organized the library, medical centre for the protesters and police also helped them and distributed food as well and also gave them the facility of media. When this Gezi park camp was cleared by the police effort on 15th of June the people started to meet up to many other different parks for the discussions and they stared to organized the public forums and forward it. The prime minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan eradicates the march of the protesters in June. People of Turkey became the victim of the tear gas and the water cannons by the force.

This action of the police killed almost eleven people and more than eight thousand got injured but police did not show any mercy to people, the media showed that many people during that protest also got arrested by the police the right calculation of the arrested people were around more than three thousand, which was very incredible and awful thing for the Turkish, because their own government people were doing this kind of act to them. This led the foreign countries and other international organizations to take the action and help the Turkish protesters because the Turkish government was not doing for their people they were mostly quiet.

The social media were recording each and every act that were happening in turkey during the protest and educating the world about the news of the Turkey circumstances. The prime minister of the turkey Recep Tayyib Erdogan recognized the role of the media and noticed the splendid work; he blamed them for the problems. He called the twitter the menace at that time, which proved that the social media became the important tool or all those innocent people who were not receiving and kind of help to finish the problems of their life.

Now the social websites like twitter, facebook, flickr, tumblr and youtube, became the major sorce for the protesters for the people of turkey to share the information that how they will survive under such circumstances and these websites helped to update the news situation that was happening in the Gezi Park and many photos and videos were upload on the youtube to share the information of the protest. The news once claimed that the Turkish broadcasters were accused of leaking news blackout and they got failed to report to the demonstration.

The very famous Dutch footballer who got a lot of fame in his career Mr. Wesley Sneijder expressed his support of the Istanbul protests on the Twitter. He tweeted that his heart is with the Turkish people who are defending their rights. The Turkish government may had to use the Turkish army to stop all the protesters for making the trouble of any kind but deep inside we all knew that the protesters are doing this protest because they for their own good.

The was a website of IT news Tech Crunch reports claimed that the access of the facebook and twitter will not be allowed and it will be blocked in Istanbul and other nearby areas. The Turkish people believed that the government blocked these sites and the internet access just to hide the news of the Turkish protesters condition, in turkey there was a very big mobile phone provider who claimed that the government has nothing to do with the blocking of the internet access. Many offers were made for the demonstrators were post on the twitter for many weeks.

There has been a news on this topic that the restaurants, café’s, bars were close to the Taksim Square where the Gezi Park was situated and they have tweeted that they are open for all the protesters who are facing difficulty to have the necessities of common human being. The hotels and other organization were welcoming people who got arrested by the police and police left them astray. Not just that the local residents who were living nearby the Gezi Park posted to twitter and Facebook their internet passwords so that the protesters would not find any difficulty to post the situation of them, staying online was the great option for them to know about the worlds view regarding them.

So it was very obvious that when the conventional media in turkey did not help the protesters to the fullest and leave them in a very bad condition the social media became the big and very helpful source for the Turkish people to reveal the truth about the Gezi Park and turkey breaking untold news. The television channels were showing only reality shows, cooking shows instead of showing the news about the situation of the country but the social media was full of photos and videos of the Gezi Park protest in turkey. So, the social media became one of the important thing for the Turkish people. It is a fact that the seventy percent of the Turkish people are under thirty five o age and the turkey is ranked the fourth largest global usage of Facebook and might be eighth on using the twitter.

Well, it was quiet obvious thing that why turkey has achieved this ranks because the turkey’s ruling justice and development uplifted the pressure on media, so the only option for the poor people who were fighting for their rights and justice is to reveal the truth to the world. The Turkish people tolerate a lot to get what they want they risked their lives even many protesters left this world fighting for their rights and many got injured. The worst part was them that their own government were doing this to them they were not helping them. They blocked the entire media source for them but they did not lose their hopes they got justice in the end and the protest that was last for almost fifty days were reaching to an end.

Reference:

1. Hutchinson, S. (2013). Turkey protest and role of media 2013. Social media plays major role in Turkey protests. (Hutchinson, 2013) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-22772352
2. Wikipedia. (2013). Turkey protest and role of media 2013. Media censorship and disinformation during the Gezi Park protests. (Wikipedia, Turkey protest and role of media 2013, 2013) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_censorship_and_disinformation_during_the_Gezi_Park_protests
3. Aslan, B. (2013). Turkey protest and role of media 2013. GEZIPARKI: SOCIAL MEDIA’S ROLE IN TURKEY’S PROTEST MOVEMENT. (Aslan, 2013) http://global.asc.upenn.edu/geziparki-social-medias-role-turkeys-protest-movement/
4. Yanatma, S. (2016). Turkey protest and role of media 2013. Social media and protests in Turkey – seminar report. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/risj-review/social-media-and-protests-turkey-seminar-report
5. Wikipedia. (2013). Turkey protest and role of media 2013. Gezi Park protests. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gezi_Park_protests

To have a better understanding about this topic, we need to analyze the definition of new technology. New technology can be defined as any set of productive techniques which can offer significant improvement in many aspects of life especially in a globalize era where the dependency of new technology is much more important and needed by everyone. The definition of new technology also can be define as a science applied to practical purposes which is the theoritical idea of producing it is coming from science background to actually produce it and canbe used practically by human. Thus, we can see a successive change in technology up till now as a modern set of advanced technology born every single time. The examples of new technology can be seen from the information technology, network, art and music, artificial intelligence that is extually expand over time to make human life become more easier and better. However, the new technology that is most interest and prominet in current world is the information and communication technology. This because the fuction and role of information and communication technology cannot be deny is so important in a daily life, can be for education based, working and also for socially inteaction. Morever, when the term of information and communication technology come to mind, we cannot resist the role of media.

Media is evolving over time and the role is also changing because of the demanding of people. It was started early 3000BC to 1500BC during the historic age where media is already started been utilized by human for example the development of writing on the cave. The fuction of this is to actually inform and deliver message, signs and also information the group of community. This era could be the catalyzed for the growing of the function of media. Then, move to the industrial era during 1600 to 1800 where the born of printing press like Chicago Times that was the first printing press that was printed. This invention eventually sparked a revolution of media for communication methods. Next is duirng the electronic age where many countries in the world started to produced a telecommunication technology methods and devices that actually can connect two or more user during one time for a conversation. This can be seen through the born of telephone by Graham Bell.[footnoteRef:1] Lastly and the most recently is the information era right now where mass media like the internet is created that can connect people worldwide in the world and also spread the info as the function of transmitter. This role and the evolution of media is really affecting us in many aspect and ofcourse to the world of politics. [1: “Evolution of Media Throughout the Ages Timeline.” Timetoast, https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/evolution-of-media-throughout-the-ages.]

The role modia in the world of politics is firstly, it is playing an crucial role in a democratic community. The primary purpose is to inform the public about the information needed about the leadership and policy in the country so that they can have thoughtful decision regarding those two aspects. This is very important because to make sure that there is no hidden agenda abouts the political leaders and to make sure they are doing their job scope rightly. As media act as a watchdog to checking of the goverment actions, it can provide the agenda for public discussion for any issue and provide a forum for political expression. We have lots of social media and even forum on the website where we people can discuss any topics and address ministers to taken action of the topic presented and also this will create a pressure to the them to actually deliver the action because of the eyeings on them. Morever, the role of media is to faciliate a more active role for the public in political discourse. This because new media enhance people’s access to political info and foster the participation. With the help of internet, you can know any issues all around the world with on click and one second. This make easier for people especially the youth to start engaging with political discourse eventhough they are working and busy with many other things. The leaders also have the chance to deliver their message, role, mission and goal to public and explain their works within second.

However, the role of media is also giving a big impact towards helping the successful of social movement. One of the the role of media in strengthening the social movement is to giving platform to social movement achieve their mission. As in a globalize world where you dont have to stick to a traditional way of protest where you need to go to rally and shout, now you can deliver your solidarity through social media and internet and can gather all people around the world that have similar mission and idea like you to fight for the course we believe in. As a result, this will create more pressure because the voice is not only coming from the coutry itself but also all around the world. Secondly, the role of media in strengthening social movement is where you can collect fund to fund your activity. A great financial stability will actually enhance your activites because you can use that to fund for lawyer if needed to help the the victim that you are fighting for. This also can give you the ability to fund the movement in a long term especially if it is a physical movement where you need to back up for the transportation, food and etc.

My case study is about the All Out Movement. All Out Movement is basically figthing for the LGBT right all around the world. This because people view it is illegal for LGBT people to express their personalities, their sexual attraction and their identity. In many more, LGBT people face appalling discrimination and exclusion that is can be found in the workplace, in school or even as an individual. This is really unfair because as human being you should have been treated equally for who you are and it is something wrong to descriminate others just beacuse of their sexuality when they have so much things to offer bet it their potential and skills This leads to the LGBT movement to fighting back against this elemental injustice for over half a century and it has achieved incredible results and one the example will be provided after this. The mission All Out Movement is using the power of new technology to support LGBT activism across the world. It can be through respectful partnerships and collaboration that connect millions of citizens so that they can involve to take action, to donate and joining campaigns for LGBT rights. Through collaboration, they raise the volume from many level which is local, national, regional and international. They do this work because they want to help create a world of true equality and fair deal for LGBT people everywhere and end bigotry and discrimination. The partnership and participation of people aorund around the world can be seen as result of the Grassroots Giving where it is a groundbreaking fundraising programme connecting all Out’s members to collect a small donations through online medium to fund the work of local groups around the world fighting to end equality, discrimination and injustices against LGBT people. All Out will provide a platform in their website for people to make a donation and also the grassroots to apply the funding from the range from US$5,000 to US$7,000 for a specific project. This activity enable to reach out grassroots all around the world the world to help the LGBT community.[footnoteRef:2] [2: All Out Strategies 2016-2019, retrieved on 5th november 2019, from https://allout.org/sites /AllOut_Strategy_2016-2019]

This movement also hold on social movement theory which is Theory of Change where they believe that they can make a change towards the perception towards LGBT people and also to change any policy making that created being unfair toward the group of minority. They basically will use the medium of digital communications, campaigning and mobilisation to channel this people power and believe that this online activity has real world impact in changing laws, ending discrimination and changing the rules and regulation and open poeple’s view. They connect activists and the broader public, providing an opportunity for people to stand together in common cause on LGBT rights. This, as result will gather strength between them and eventually can we sure the movement they held will be succeed.

One of the successful All Out Movement is through the online petition which is towards the two tenenage girls in Morocco were facing three years in prison over a kiss and hug. All Out together with Collectif Aswat and Association Akaliyat (an organzation that against discrimination based on gender and sexuality) launced a global petition to push the Morrocon authorities to release the girls. The petition is spread globally worldwide using the All Out Twitter medium[footnoteRef:3] and as a result, All Out succeed to gather more than 104,000 members all around the world to sign the petition. After the first court hearing, the girls were released on bail, unfortunately, the charges were not took out from them. The again All Out put the pressure to the authority by teamed up with L’Union Feministe which is a feminist and intersectional NGO created in 2016 to fight against all forms of violence based on gender and sexuality. [footnoteRef:4] [3: Hocking, L. (2018). Technology has always been at the forefront of social movements. How the Internet can accelerate social movements. Retrived from https://www.connectedobservatory.net/analysis-1/how-the-internet-can-accelerate-social-movements] [4: Morocco : the girls are free, Retrieved on 5 November 2019, from https://allout.org/en/highlights/morocco-girls-are-free]

These two organizations launched a new online tool where it provides people around the world to sign in to the link and express their solidarity by sending the postcards to support directly to the girls and as a result, more than 1700 all Out Members took part in this campaign. After a week of campaigning, the girls were found innocent by the court. This proved that, eventhough there is no traditional movement involved by going down to the road yet still they managed to fight for the course they believe in and they will try to connect All Out members all around the world to battle for LBGT rights through campaigning and solidarity through the media.

This shows eventough the decision of punishment is already made by the authority to give sentence 3 years towards the girls however, with the effort people around the world to create pressure is eventually help to released them. It is occured even with nonvilent action and only required to give solidarity towards online petition and social media like Twitter to propagate the mission. It is proven that even if it is through the medium of media but the efficiently is cannot be denied.

In conclusion, the role of media in strengthen social movement is cannot be denied because it has become new tool in conducting many activities in a globalization day. One should utilze it carefully and manage it in a right way then it result will be the utmost benefiting to all around the world. Also, as social movement is not unsual thing nowadays, the organizer should know the current way in connecting the supporter to support their campaign and that can be achieve through the awareness of media. Morever, the use of media is being used in many range of age, then it is the most useful especially to create attention towards the youth about certain movement so that they become aware and joining, this beacuse the youth power is undenieble useful because they have energy and strength and can be used to change policy making towards the betterment.

Bibliography

1. Corsham Institute. (2018, March 23). How the Internet can accelerate social movements. Retrieved from https://www.connectedobservatory.net/analysis-1/how-the-internet-can-accelerate-social-movements.
2. Allison-Hope, D., Darnton, H., Lee, M., Vaughan, J., Husseini, S., Wang, C., … Bsr. (n.d.). How Can New Technologies Strengthen Social Movements?: Blog. Retrieved from https://www.bsr.org/en/our-insights/blog-view/how-can-new-technologies-strengthen-social-movements.
3. Morocco: the girls are free!: All Out. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://allout.org/en/highlights/morocco-girls-are-free.
4. Carroll, W. K., & Ratner, R. S. (1999). Media Strategies and Political Projects: A Comparative Study of Social Movements. The Canadian Journal of Sociology / Cahiers canadiens de sociologie, 24(1), 1-34. doi:10.2307/3341476
5. “Evolution of Media Throughout the Ages Timeline.” Timetoast, https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/evolution-of-media-throughout-the-ages.

The most important question nowadays is what is the Role Of Media In Pakistan Essay Positive, Negative? The role of media in every country is very much significant and crucial because it is the one who is responsible to create a good image or even destroy the created image in the country as well as even millions of its respondents outside the country. When we talk about a country like Pakistan than we should not forget the role of media in its downfall and its negative image which is being created all over the globe, according to my media should be very much liberal but still, it should not be so much liberal and free that it should make fun of significant and critical personalities and names of the country. The role of media in Pakistan is very much negative as they are just running into the competition and not for the sake of the nation; they are very much less patriotic and nationalist because they have the aim for the success of their particular organization and not the success of the nation.

This competition has dented the image of Pakistan in the entire world as we have destroyed the fame, respect, and dignity in the entire globe just because of the unlimited freedom of media and liberalization. There is no doubt that media should be liberal and should have the right to say or to show anything but one thing should be kept in mind that they should not affect the national interest as well as the national interest and the national dignity of the state.

According to me, the media in Pakistan should play a role that should be helpful in the cause of reviving the lost respect and dignity. The media should be fair and should show what is real but instead of making fun of the political leaders or even the head of the states, they should be carrying out such programs that should be eye-opening and realistic, and instead of fun making they should play their key role in the upbringing of the national interest as well as the for the sake of national cause.

The media should create an example in the entire world that the image of Pakistan which is being created in the entire world is just false and is just an illusion created by the world mafia against the Muslim countries especially against Pakistan. So if Pakistan has to regain respect and dignity then the media of Pakistan has to fill the gap and will have to step forward and take up the responsibility for this respective cause. So, this is all about the Role Of Media In Pakistan Essay Positive, Negative. Share your point of view in the comment section about what you think about the role of media in Pakistan.

Current political achievement depends on the control of mass correspondences, for example, television, radio, paper, magazines, which are all essential hotspots for the general population to remain educated on the day-by-day exercises of the American republic. The American political system has continuously formed into a period where the conduct of legislators, residents, and government issues, is shaped by innovation. With new research on innovation, there is now social media, permitting social networking sites, like Twitter or Instagram, and print media; The Washington Post, NY Times, etc. affecting the American individuals and governing body. The basic role of mass communications is basically to give information and give in tell when critical events happen around the world. Media is important for the American people and politicians because it frames the democratic process such as: reporting the news, sharing the current issues that need to be re-examined, and allowing individuals to be actively engaged in governmental issues. However, the drawback of media is that it impacts the manner in which the general population may respond, and the media forms public opinion. This shapes the political conduct of individuals and it may affect casting a ballot. It can be contended that media is a decent asset to aid in governmental issues, yet it impacts the perspective of the general society. Thus, the nature of media coverage matters because it has full control in our government. For this reason, the media is controlling the news, public opinion, and there is a media bias.

In American legislative issues, journalistic prejudice happens on every mass medium communication. There is concern about the effects of journalistic preference since it impacts one’s particular viewpoint whether it’s on an issue or on the political competitors. The researchers from the University of Vienna, Jakob-Moritz Eberl, Hajo G. Boomgaarden, and Markus Wagner, in “One Bias Fits All? Three kinds of Media Bias and Their Effects on Party Preferences” contends that media influences the public’s voting and voters that necessarily don’t have a party identification are more likely to be manipulated in media bias. Eberl, Boomgaarden, and Wagner classify three types of media bias: visibility, tonality, and agenda. They characterized visibility bias as one political candidate is getting more media coverage over their competitor on papers, TV, magazines, and it’s the aftereffect of the political competitor having comparative qualities with the author (1128). This is a negative bias because the writer essentially will only compose positive things that he’s willing to share about the political candidate and voters need to discover how they feel about the applicants running, so the journalist writing on specific subjects could change a voter’s sentiment. Tonality bias was defined as “evaluations present in media coverage are systematically more favorable to one political party compared to other parties” (1128). This bias is when the media in partisan politics will share good or bad statements made by either party. An example of this bias is our current President Donald Trump, who has social media, and some of his tweets receive backlash, and the media will make a scandal and the American individuals will get involved and voice their opinions on the particular statement. Lastly, agenda bias is where government officials will be featured in talk shows or have an interview that features specific subjects that they are willing to talk about because they know it will win the general population if they discuss their personal viewpoints on gun control or the economy. The bias occurs because “journalists or editors decide to select to ignore specific news stories” (1129). In their study of the Austria election campaign, they discovered that voter is presented with more to tonality bias and visibility bias has no effect on voters. The tonality bias occurs more often to voters because their conclusions change because what they read, hear, view, or discuss is likely to change when it’s about a topic they’re interested in. Similarly, James N. Druckman and Michael Parkin, in the article, “The Impact of Media Bias: How Editorial Slant Affects Voters”, argue that media coverage impacts voters. In their examination they centered around two news organizations, Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, concentrating on the Election Day leave survey from the 2000 Minnesota Senate Campaign. This study is important because it shows how the newspaper creates a slant and how journalists favor a particular politician. The candidates running for the campaign were Rod Grams, a republican, and Mark Dayton a democrat. In their analysis, the Star Tribune favored Grams and the Pioneer Press remained neutral (1036). However the Pioneer Press, at that time was ‘suing Grams for a copyright infringement .. [showing] no bias, but it caused a slant” (1036). Now looking at the percentages of media coverage from the Star Tribune gave 23% of media to Gram, 22% to Dayton, and 55% to both (1038).

Although it is not a huge difference in percentage, the Star Tribune favored Grams, so its editorial slant because the paper wrote positively about him. The Pioneer Press gave 24% of media coverage to Grams, 25% to Dayton, and 51% to both (1038). However, the Pioneer Press did remain neutral, it did have a bad light on Grams because of the situation of suing. Dayton did win the election and it proves to show that the amount of media coverage on print media matters because the daily readers of the newspapers will reflect and vote on certain conditions discussed. Media news reporting needs balance in general and doesn’t stay unbiased and it appeared in almost every election. Furthermore, media does activate public expressions and it has coverage effects on the government during campaigns.

Media refers to mass media, which involves communication channels and tools such as broadcast media, print media, and web media. It serves to target a large number of people. Television and radio are considered broadcast media, while newspapers, books, and magazines are considered print media. websites and Social media applications are regarded as web media. Nowadays, the media became the main source of information and news. it is one of the most important factors that influence individuals’ lives. It plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion and determining its trends, as it can reach people of different ages, interests, and backgrounds.

Media provides different contents and target diverse segments of society, it promotes messages, ideas, and perspectives within specific contexts and frames. As some of the contents require to be in the form of a television program and others in the form of a magazine article. And here comes the role of the media, which takes into consideration the nature of each medium, its requirements, and the intended audience

The effective medium is the one that achieves the highest rates of reach to people and influence in society. The media is not isolated from society, nor can a medium succeed without working on social and cultural contexts, the multiplicity of media outlets serves the diversity of society, as each mass category in society has a specific content that corresponds to its needs and interests. For example, healthy lifestyle tv programs are directed to people suffering from diseases like obesity and diabetes, which can be cured by following a healthy lifestyle. Sports tv programs are directed at sports amateurs, and cartoons are usually directed to children.

There are several media roles the most important of which are providing information, raising awareness, and facilitating communication. Each function contributes to influencing the development of individuals as well as nations. Media is indispensable in the dissemination of information, it keeps people informed about the latest news of what is happening around them, and in the world at the same time. It has an impact on the individual’s and society’s cognitive structure. It has the power of shaping people’s opinions and perspectives about aspects of their society as well as the universe. But the degree of influencing people and shaping their attitudes differs according to the way people interact with what is provided by media. For example, some people can analyze the content of media channels, and criticize the content that is displayed and the values and ideas that are promoted by these media means; however, many factors such as guaranteed fundings resources, the ability to media coverage in most regions around the world, as well as addressing debatable issues can push people to believe and adopt the opinions, ideas, and perspectives that a certain media outlet wants to promote.

Media make communication between different societies and people all over the world surpasses geographical barriers and long distances. It facilitates interactions between different cultures, Which serves in eliminating ignorance and stereotypes about others. Through social media applications such as Facebook, Instagram, and tweeter people can communicate with people from other cultures and have direct interaction with them.

Media makes a huge contribution to education. before 3 decades, people could not access the internet. they based their Learning on books and material provided by schools and teachers. After the internet became publically available, the new generation counts basically on information shared by media channels specifically web media. People have the ability to consume information and educational courses simply by having an internet connection. With videos, images, graphics, and audio learning became easier.

Media facilitates the learning process and the communications between the teachers and the students. Teachers have a better connection with their students when they use social media platforms such as WhatsApp or Facebook. they can provide their students with assistants off courses timing. They can guide their students by directing them to the relevant content and information that will benefit them. For instance, during my baccalaureat year, my mathematics teacher formed a WhatsApp group in order to provide us with off-class timings support, he shared with us practical video courses that he produced, and whenever we asked him to correct or to explain for us an exercise he answered. This method resulted in a huge improvement of our skills which was reflected in our grades.

Media protect social justice and give a voice to oppressed people. By calling for the accountability of people in charge of decision-making positions and their policies concerning their nations. By informing people about corrupt crimes committed by responsible people and asking for social justice, the media can help in decreasing despotism and corruption. But this requires a high translucence from media outlets and journalists performing sincere work on finding solutions for the social issues and enlightening public opinion.

Social networks have contributed to enabling freedom of expression, and have allowed their users to communicate their views and explain their attitudes and reactions towards events that concern them. People could covey their opinion and base their own points of view on analyzing different contents which represent diverse aspects of issues and topics.

Media promote positive models in all aspects of life. It represents the ideal values and examples that people can follow in their lives. for instance, addressing the story of a man defending a person following a certain religion who was exposed to verbal abuse because of his faith, conveys the message that the act of abusing someone because he or she believes in a different religion from yours is unacceptable behavior and that we should respect and tolerate other peoples’ different religious believes and personal choices.

Seeking the truth and clarifying falsehood is one of the most important roles of media. It protects people from constructing opinions and judgments on the basis of false news or information. This includes coverage of wars, important events, and political news. Fake news can impact the destiny of individuals as well as communities. It can be used to destroy someone’s reputation, shape a nation’s destiny or create conflict. Many media owners and journalists promote fake news or information that is not verified in order to serve personal purposes or to gain financial profit. the Iraq war in 2003 changed the destiny and the history of the country. The war was based on false claims by the president of the united states at the time George w. Bush. He claimed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and produces chemical and biological weapons that are forbidden. The media coverage of this war was completely bias. Media platforms like fox news promoted a number of fake news about Iraq being involved in the 2001 attacks in the united states and connived with Al Quaeda. the war was justified by ensuring the public security of America and the world and that it is also done for the sake of Iraq’s freedom. As we know united states never found such weapons in Iraq, but the post-war consequences made Iraq lose a lot and shaped the history of the country. The US media coverage of the incident was clearly bias and propagandist which makes it significantly responsible for spreading fake and unverified news.

Media plays a vital role in our lives as we can not cut it off from our lives, however, consumers of media should be aware of its impact on their lives and learn skills of analyzing and critical thinking; so they can recognize the accurateness of content, information and news.

To sum up, media roles are illimitde. people can communicate despite their geographical barriers . Thanks to media education became easier. Benificial courses and information became available for all people around the world. It gave oppressed people a voice and it can ensure social justice. Media enlightens people’s opinions by adressing verified facts and avoiding bias facts.

Socialization is a strategy by which culture conveys to the more youthful age section and men gain proficiency with the arrangement of laws and practices of social gatherings to which they fit in. Each general public forms an institutional structure inside which socialization of the youngster happens. Broad communications have appeared to be a significant organization of socialization. This is consistent to some degree since now youngsters invest more energy before the TV than blending with their folks and other relatives

Socialization is a huge factor in shaping nations to turn out to be who they are. Our social affairs help us in forming our individuality and intelligence of self towards others. Socialization is the procedure where we are taught and internalize the principles, values, and norms of our culture and, in so doing build up a sense of self. There are several agents of socialization, such as our family unit, the peers we gain, and the institution we belong to. Mass media had become one of the most dominant forces that attach people to other people. Because of this, mass media can already be considered a significant agent of socialization. And since mass media had already developed into a powerful and powerful agent, then mass media serve as a dominant socializing agent and has to be sure become a large pressure of who we become.

Mass media helps the public in forming their own kinds of beliefs and what realities they shall prefer to promote because the shock of media, both in content and in the procedure, on all areas of the public is undeniable. Each zone of life is touched and prejudiced by the power of mass media. The public relates to what they see or hear. Mass media dictate what is relevant or significant to someone’s life and what deserves more attention. Mass media entice the public to certain social values by persuasion and selectively appropriating their messages. Because the public spends more time with mass media, they are easily shaped by whatever they are uncovered to.

One of the early factors considered by any form of mass media, may it be on the transmit or print, is its spectators. These are the collection of consumers for whom the media text was constructed as well as anyone else who is out to the text or message of the mass media. Every mass media has a certain intended public that they want to go through. A TV show that has a high school setting or a piece of writing published in the newspaper that is focused on the troubles that youth usually encounter that lead many of them to commit crimes are generally examples of mass media addressed to the youth and the public concern on how the youth shall grow such as parents and mentors. This could be attributed to the fact that the main characters focused in the tv shows or article is youth. The publication of such a piece of writing or the release of such a show also emphasizes that there is a nation who wants to understand the youth in the most complex stage of their life. Away from the main characters, the setting and troubles discussed in the article or TV shows could also determine who the intended spectators of the mass media are.

It is a reality that the capacity of broad communications as operators of socialization has been both fortified and changed by the change of the planet. Innovation had improved the spread of mass media reach. Individuals pay out the vast majority of their time in contact with the world through diverse types of broad communications. Some of the time, the time allocated to different operators of socialization is even yielded just to offer time to the use of broad communications. Network shows and motion pictures today command customs as the sort of life they depict effectively manages what will be reality. The figure of individuals who rely upon what they watch on the television, see the sound from the radio, or read from the web, is expanding quickly in light of the assistance of present-day advancements. More time is given to broad communications use, and more prominent extents of that time are devoted to excitement. To keep open engaged implies that the type of broad communications is effective in social occasion supporters, and consequently, benefit moreover. Broad communications, all things considered, has likewise a business side.

Some of the most admired topics that highly discuss in the community and popularized by mass media are the various form so social deviance. Stories on this topic are seriously explored and promoted in broadcast and publish forms of mass media. Deviance is an especially hot topic in the mass media because it had a pleasurable factor that is highly sellable to the community. Rule-breaking is the primary criterion of deviance. If it does not conform to the realities of everyday life or it does not follow the dictates and limitations of the public, then it is considered a material of social deviance. Crimes and unacceptable practices of the public are some forms of deviant stories. Various forms of mass media, especially investigative journalism for print and transmit, explore offense stories from different angles or perspectives in order to gain more spectators and produce more materials that could be made into the news. They use ample amount in revealing and investigating crimes and acts that are violations of each day life. Stories of May-December affairs or same-gender affairs are favored issues explored in various popular TV shows. These stories do not adhere to conformities of usual practices and are therefore socially deviant. These are all acts of deviance that are extremely popularized already by mass media. Deviance is atypical, gratifyingly satisfying, and eventually results in the nonconformist suffering extremely painful penalty and is one of the essential tools of mass media to expand more spectators.

Broad communication is a standout amongst the most significant specialist of socialization that assists individuals in their arrangement of convictions and standards. The impact of broad communications had enabled it to experience the lives of increasingly open and in this way weigh how they act and think. Broad communications had reclassified our social job and the substances of our lives are additionally reliant on what we gain from the distinctive types of media. It is through broad communications that we study our reality and what are its actualities. It is likewise through broad communications that we structure our very own assessments and stands. Social abnormality is likewise a result of the distinctive operators of socialization in light of the fact that these deviances are shaped by the convictions of people in general. Social aberrance is additionally given more understanding by broad communications as a result of the way abnormality standard to pop culture.

Broad communications help open in framing their own sorts of convictions and what substances they will like to advance on the grounds that the stun of media, both in substance and in strategy, on all territories of open is obvious. Each zone of life is contacted and preferential by the intensity of broad communications. Open identify with what they see or hear. Broad communications direct what is pertinent or huge to somebody’s life and what merits more consideration.

Social media plays a vital role in our generation’s growth. It is an essential aspect of our daily lives today as people gain knowledge and skills that brighten their lives worldwide. Today so many activities, especially communication, have been taken to a better level through improved social media and social networking. The tremendous benefit has contributed a positive impact on the growth of our culture and business as well. Websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube are among the popular sites where people can interact easily and share new ideas freely without much expense. Social media can cause some challenges in people’s lives when misused, limiting social interaction, but it plays a significant impact on our generation today.

The potential to access a large audience is among the huge impact of social media in our generation today. It opens the door for people to interact freely and share better ideas on improving their business by finding great ways to market their products and services. It has become the major source for the collaborative world to advertise their goods and services. This is done either directly through websites or celebrities paid to market various types of products worldwide. Therefore, it offers more people a great opportunity to better their lives (Nielsen, R.K, 2014, pp.472-489). Celebrities, especially youth, can be hired by various organizations to promote their brands online. Also, people can earn a significant amount just by running logs and podcasts. The media also offers a venue for more people in our generation to showcase their talents and use them to better their future by educating and entertaining others.

Apart from promoting business, education has been improved to a better level today. The media has contributed significantly to a better learning environment for both teachers and students. It is quite easy today for anyone to learn from other people who are professionals and experts in different disciplines through social media. Students can access various knowledgeable materials from different sites at a lower cost and enhance their knowledge in any field regardless of their educational background and location (George, M., 2019, pp. 9-10). Through media, awareness has been created, enabling people to develop innovative ideas that have contributed to our generation’s growth to date. People from different generations have discovered new and innovative ideas of much impact on our generation. Activities such as communications, banking, and money transfer have been made easier and secure through social media.

The security and rights of people in any given nation have improved today. Through media use, the government and its agencies are in a better position to fight crime through spying and arresting criminals (Nielsen, R.K, 2014, pp.472-489). Besides the great benefit of social media, it has also contributed to members’ downfall in today’s generation through cyberbullying, hacking of personal data, and addiction to immoral activities leading to loss of life.

Social media has both negative and positive impact on our generation today. There are great benefits people can gain by using social media like networking and partnership, advertising services to promote business, and creating viral content. One should develop a better decision to stop accessing media content or use it moderately to benefit their future.

References

1. Nielsen, R.K. and Schrøder, K.C., 2014. The relative importance of social media for accessing, finding, and engaging with news: An eight-country cross-media comparison. Digital journalism, 2(4), pp.472-489.
2. George, M., 2019. The importance of social media content for teens’ risks for self-harm. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65(1), pp.9-10.

ABSTRACT

In today’s digital world, one just have to get connected with internet to get a bunch of information in their hands. With the developments of new communication technologies, people have experienced a big transformation in communicating and sharing the information in their daily and social life. This sharing of information over social media platforms such as facebook, twitter, instagram, etc leaves a big impact on people’s mind. Content shared in social media can be spread quickly to a large number of people. This extensive use of social media can play an important role in enhancing the social movements among the people. One of the instances in which social media certainly played a major role in enhancing a social movement is Me too movement. The main objective of the research is to find how social media plays an important role in enhancing the social movements now a days? All the definitions of social movements reflect the notion that these social movements are directly related to the social change.

Today’s youth is exposed to all type of media and technologies. They are actively engaged with social media through apps, e-paper, Social Networking Sites, etc which connected them to the world. Therefore structured questionnaire was the tool of the research and descriptive research design was used.

INTRODUCTION

Communication plays a pivotal part in enhancing the social movements/campaigns and after the initiation of social media it has played a main role in creating awareness and disseminating the information. In today’s sceneario the social campaigns/movements have stretched their horizon from print, television and radio to social media.

Social media has reached each and every corner of globe because of the rapidly growing internet facility, which has direct access to information and communication. Social media is the form of electronic communication through which user create online groups or communities to share information, ideas and other content. After the introduction of social networking sites(SNSs) such as facebook, twitter, instagram, whatsaap and many more, people integrated these sites in their daily practices. If we consider the two most powerful tools of social media, facebook and twitter on which people spend most of their time. The trending topic on facebook and twitter leaves a great impact on people’s mind. Social media is a powerful tool that had the ability to be used to coordinate and unite millions of people under one cause and incite positive and lasting change.

In past few years the usage of social media has increased dramatically and this increment in usage of social media has influenced the success/failure of social movements/campaigns. There are many case studies of social media influencing the outcome of social movements/campaigns. However, only four of them will be discussed here. The ‘Me Too Movement’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Make In India’ and Swachh Bharat campaign.

CASE STUDY 1: #MeToo Movement

The #Me too movement in India was a manifestation of international Me too campaign against social harassment and assault. Women across the globe opened up and share their stories about abuse by men. It was began in October, 2018 with actress Tanushree Dutta accusing Nana Patekar of sexual harassment while shooting of the film “Horn Ok Please”. After Tanushree Dutta, many actresses including Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Bose came with their stories of sexual abuse on social media with the hashtag #MeToo.

It was not just the men who were at target point of #MeToo. Kaneez Surekha(comedian) accused fellow comedian Aditi Mittal of sexually harassing her during a comedy show in Mumbai.

The #MeToo movement spread virally as the use of the hashtag on social media platforms. Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites(SNSs) facilitate the communication of local issues to a global audience. Due to this easy access of world news and information, visibility of social issues and movements has increased.

CASE STUDY 2: Swachh Bharat Campaign

Just after the election of 2014, a campaign was launched by Prime Minister of India which a huge popularity in the audience. The main aim of this campaign is to influence people to make their surroundings neat and clean, clean up the streets, roads and infrastructure of Indian cities, towns and rural areas. Cleanliness was very close to Mahatma Gandhi therefore it was launched on his birth anniversary. Social Media has a great influence on Swachh Bharat mission. In the starting PM Modi give the statement that “I have invited 9 people and asked them to come to public places and work towards a clean India. I ask them to invite 9 more people too.” After that people started tagging their friends by using many hashtags such as #SwachhBharatMission, #MyIdeaofSwachhBharat and a most trending hashtag which brought a big change in people’s mindset is #MyCleanIndia.

CASE STUDY 3: Digital India

Digital India is the beginning of digital revolution. It is the dream created by Indian Government to ensure that each and every government services are made available electronically to citizens. It is a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society. The three key areas on which this campaign has focused are digital infrastructure, Governance and services on demand and Digital empowerment of the citizens. Under these three key areas many programmes were launched for the success of this campaign

• Public Internet Access Programme – National Rural Internet Mission
• Universal access to phones
• E- governance – reforming govt. Through technologies
• E- Kranti – Electronic delivery of services
• IT for jobs
• E- aadhar
• Digilocker

Digital India campaign was launched on social media also and social media has a big hand on its success. Digital India’s official facebook and Twitter account are very active. Social media is playing a crucial role in helping India evolve into its digital form, But it seems a long way to go.

CASE STUDY 4: Make In India

It is a campaign which covers 25 sectors of the economy, launched by Government of India in 2014. The primary goal of Make in India campaign is to encouraging both multinational as well as domestic companies to manufacture their products in India. Make in India has introduced multiple new initiatives, promoting foreign direct investment and developing the manufacturing sectors. Make in India campaign was launched on digital platform also, in which physical files were replaced to online. A web portal was also released which provide all the information about the projects, policies of the campaign.

In today’s scenario everyone has internet access and almost everyone are socially active therefore Make in India also have their official Facebook and Twitter pages which provide the information about the live projects and events. Even Make in India Campaign has their own youtube page also which give all the important videos of the events under it. This campaign used social media in a very good way for their promotion and marketing.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

There are many studies at National and International level , which has been conducted by different scholars which reveals various results on social media enhancing the social movements/campaigns. Study on the usage of social media in stimulating the social movements has begun to surface in the last decades. Most of these studies has focused on particular case studies such as the study of a social movement in middle east- Arab Spring, Me Too Movement which was founded by Tarana Burke but began as a much needed social phenomenon in October 2017 as a hashtag by American actress Alyssa Milano who shared her story of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein.

Consumption of different media, especially social media is increasing day by day. Youth using internet and mobile phones very much as compare to other media and they are more aware about the movements/campaigns.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Through analysis-survey based research this research paper will examine the role of social media has played in social movements by exploring the social movements/campaigns of past five years in India. With the help of this research paper, the researcher tried to verify the role of media in promoting the intention to participate in social movements/campaigns.

For the purpose of the research paper, a survey method was used by the researcher as tool for data collection. Since youth are the main consumers of social media, so in the age group of 18 to 30 were chosen for the study. They were asked to fill a questionaire prepared for the purpose of study. Random sampling method has been used for the study.

DATA INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS

A survey has been conducted by random sampling, the age group of the selected people is between 18 to 30. The result was collected from the homogenous audience.

The question was asked to know how much time youth spend on social media and we concluded that 50% people spend around 3-4 hours on social media whereas 32.5% people spend 1-2 hours on social media which shows that youth is quite active on social media. However 7.5% people spend around 5-6 hours on social media whereas 10% people spend more than 6 hours on social media.

55% responses were for reading the posts whereas 10% spend their time in liking the posts which shows that people are interested in reading about the social issues and gathering information. However 30% people responses that they spend their maximum time chating on social media with friends and other people whereas 2.5% people spend their time in commenting others posts and 2.5% people response in the favour of sharing the information with people. It shows that maximum people spend their time in reading the content on social media sites and sharing it with other people by posting and chating.

As we discussed previously that there are multiple campaigns launched by government of India in past five years while touching many social topics like Swachh Bharat Campaign, digital India, Make In India and movements held like Me Too Movement. So to evaluate which campaign/movement has highest recall value so again responses were taken from the mixed set of audience and it was analyzed that 62.5% responses for Swachh Bharat campaign claiming the highest recall value whereas 20% responses for Me Too movement and 12.5% responses for Digital India and Make In India which was the famous campaign just got 5% responses from the audience.

Medium is the most important platform through which audience gets to know about various campaigns/movements. Even at one end majority of the government departments have put up web portals to create direct interface with the public. They are also using social networking sites(SNSs) for conveying their message and getting their feedback. Therefore to know the source which helps to create highest football is a matter of analysis so there are four major sources i.e. Social Media, Television, Radio and print media. 66.6% chosen social media over the other medium for information whereas 25% people chosen television over print and radio. However print media was chosen by only 8.4% people. Social media is recently getting trending and an important tool for the dissemination of information to large no. of audience.

At the end it is concluded that social media has a greater reach in compare to other medium.

Last year a movement was manifested from the global campaign against women harassment and assault by the men at working place and other places also. This movement was on trending for a long time on social media by using hashtag #MeToo. Through this question the research wanted to enquire the awareness of the people towards this movement and recall value attached with it. 78.9% responses were in favour of the statement that they know about this movement in India whereas 21.1% are not yet expose to it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a campaign in 2014 which immediately got attention with the name “Swachh Bharat Campaign” which was launched with the mission to motivate citizens of India to keep their surroundings neat and clean. This question to know that how much audience know about this campaign as they spend around 3-4 hours on social media. 97.5% responses were gave right answer that Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched this campaign in India whereas 2.5% responses are not yet know about this campaign.

These figures somewhere support the statements that Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was the most successful campaign of the government and it has the highest reach to people. Social media also plays an effective in the success and the reach of this campaign. This campaign has the reach to urban as well as rural people.

As it was discussed previously that people spend around 3-4 hours in using social media now to test the effectiveness of social media in creating awareness about social movements/campaigns, responses were taken and it was evaluated that 56.1% responses agree that social media helps in creating awareness about the campaigns whereas 34.1% reponses were strongly agree with the given statement. However 7.3% responses neither agree nor disagree and 2.4% responses were disagree that social doesn’t play any role in creating awareness about the social movements/campaigns. Majority of people reponses that social media is very important tool through which people get to know about world issues, movements and events.

CONCLUSION

This research paper focused on social media helps in enhancing the social movements/campaigns. Social Media has a great impact on social campaigns in past few years. All the movements/campaigns which were held in last five years has a great reach to the audience through social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Whatsapp. Social Media used as a biggest tool for the dissemination of information in a higher pace. Mostly people spend their time in reading the content which shared on social media, it helps them to bring a change in their thought process and mindset. Social media is a tool which can unite millions of people on one cause and can make them to bring a positive and long lasting change in the society.

This survey results are completely in the favour that social media helps in enhancing the social movements/campaigns. These campaigns/ movements have a way to go in educating the people and engage them to make their positive contribution in sustainable development and growth of humanity in the society.

REFERENCES

1. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/2018-the-year-when-metoo-shook-india/2018-the-year-of-metoo-in-india/slideshow/66346583.cms
2. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/metoo-movement-sexual-harassment-allegations-so-far/articleshow/66267346.cms
3. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/metoo-movement-india-5396200/
4. https://www.digitalindia.gov.in/
5. https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDigitalIndia
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51QEjz8y1O8
7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321722968_Digital_India_To_Transform_India_into_A_Digitally_Empowered_Society
8. http://data.conferenceworld.in/DSCW/P217-223.pdf
9. https://negd.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Digital%20Repository/Digital%20India%20New%20Brochure.pdf
10. https://optimizedinfotech.com/role-of-social-media-in-digital-india.html
11. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/fb-others-wont-get-net-exclusivity/articleshow/61774736.cms
12. https://sbm.gov.in/

Mental health is a vital part of human life for it includes the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of individuals. However, in today’s society, not everyone is aware of its significance and how it affects a person in dealing with the everyday demands of life which can make people with mental health issues suffer more. This includes depression, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and many more (McClellan, Ali, Mutter, Kroutil, & Lanwehr, 2016). Depression is one of the most common health issues of the youth today and is known to carry social stigma. Individuals with mental health illnesses are more likely to live in poverty and have lower educational attainment compared to those without such conditions (McClellan et al., 2016). Therefore, the society should discover ways to lessen stigma and discrimination towards people who suffer with mental health issues.

Public awareness can lessen the struggles of people suffering through social media. It is one of the most powerful tools to reach out to millions of users that are involved and is where they spend much of their time (Drahosova & Balco, 2017). Through the use of social media, people gain knowledge on mental health and its impact to people with mental health illness allowing them to feel understood and accepted. It is also used to raise awareness to the public on how to help one’s self or other people to cope with mental health illnesses. In line with the continuous modernization of technology, web-based communities have been an effective means to communicate about depression and its causes which increase the social connection among peers (DeJohn, Schulz, Pearson, Lachmar, & Wittenborn, 2018).

Among all developed social media, people use Twitter more frequently and it is considered as the most widespread platform for mental health since its primary use is to express the users’ thoughts and perspectives, share personal information, connect with others, and engage with the content regarding mental health. Through the use of Twitter, people are able to engage in a web-based community that can provide people a source of relief, lessen the fear of in-person interaction, and can provide a platform to normalize different discussions about common mental health issues (Lachmar, Wittenborn, Bogen, & McCauley, 2017). It is the major platform of interest when it comes to mental health due to its evident prevalence and popularity surrounding the issue (Berry et al., 2017).

Betton et al. (2015) aimed to illustrate how Twitter has been used by individuals and campaigns to challenge mental health stigma through selected case studies. Interaction on Twitter about mental health featured a dynamic blend of education, contact and protest methods for challenging stigma. Education replaces stereotypes with accurate facts and figures; personal contact between members of a stigmatized group and others undermines prevailing stereotypes; protest highlights injustice and rebukes stigmatizing attitudes. A striking aspect of Twitter is that a spontaneous burst of protest can be initiated by one individual and can be widely shared to both online and offline environments.

Communication about, and efficient search for, a specific topic can be facilitated through the use of hashtags where tweets are labeled such that other users can view contributions to conversations (Berry et al., 2017; Reavley & Pilkington, 2014). According to Martinez-Perez et al. (as cited by Reavley & Pilkington, 2014), individuals with mental illness utilize social networks such as Twitter to obtain information, access support, and raise awareness. Similarly, Berry et al. (2016) implemented a study-specific hashtag to examine the reasons why people use Twitter to discuss mental health problems. The researchers found that themes derived from the content of the tweets highlight the perceived therapeutic benefits of Twitter through the provision of support and information as well as the potential for self-management strategies. The findings from the tweets suggest that individuals may actively use Twitter to discuss mental health as way of developing a sense of belonging within a community, accessing support, challenging stigma and raising awareness, sharing experiences, and as an empowering coping mechanism (Berry et al., 2016; Betton et al., 2015). Moreover, it was found that the numerous tweets and themes identified through the hashtag demonstrated the feasibility of implementing study-specific hashtags to explore research questions in the field of mental health. The collective experiences noted were indicative of the positive role that Twitter can provide in mental health discussions.

Another set of researchers collected tweets on depression and schizophrenia with the use of hashtags. The study aimed to provide insights into how Twitter users share information about depression and schizophrenia, the type of information shared, and the relative proportions of supportive or stigmatizing attitudes among the tweets. It was found that the content of the tweets included personal experience, awareness, links to information, news and research findings, support and advice. The results also showed that majority of schizophrenia and depression tweets aimed to increase awareness and provide resources to information. Attitudes toward both illnesses were largely supportive or neutral, a number of tweets were specifically anti-stigma while tweets that reflected stigmatizing attitudes were significantly small in number. The study offers the opportunity for unobtrusive attitude measurement (Reavley & Pilkington, 2014).

Twitter is highlighted for its potential in supporting social activism where its role can be seen in linking groups together and coordinating activity (Segerberg & Bennett as cited by Shepherd, Sanders, Doyle, & Shaw, 2015). The presented study sought to outline the role of Twitter in providing a discursive space and support for those with experiences of mental disorder. The researchers found that the underlying themes on its role include: therapeutic relationship and developing professional communication; the impact of diagnosis on personal identity and as a facilitator for accessing care; the balance of power between professional and service user; and support provision through medication, crisis planning, service provision and the wider society. Social media appears to have a potentially rich role as feedback medium for mental health care service provision (Shepherd et al., 2015).

Social media platforms have been an efficient platform that is used even more by mental health anti-stigma programs since it can broadly communicate mental health information to those who need, and can influence to others, the information (Betton et al., 2015; McClellan et al., 2016). Based on previous studies, Twitter was specifically chosen as the social media of interest due to its popularity and easy to use platforms where tweets can be categorized based on their content and user information (Berry et al., 2017; Reavley & Pilkington, 2014). Social media not only could complement traditional broadcast sources (eg, radio, TV, newspaper) in spreading public health messages, but is also necessary to reach the growing percentage of the population who are abandoning traditional broadcast media as adoption of internet technologies increases (Schein & Kumanan as cited by McClellan et al., 2016). Twitter use is higher among certain populations especially the youth who can be harder to reach using traditional media sources (Smith & Brenner as cited by McClellan et al., 2016). The researchers therefore concluded that Twitter gives people a chance to discuss mental health problems as it provides a safe space for expressing thoughts that makes Twitter use increase specifically to the youth (McClellan et al., 2016; Shepherd et al., 2015). However, previous studies failed to show how Twitter establishes mental health awareness to its users.