The Role of the World Wide Web and Social Media: What We Can Learn from the Rise and Fall of the Egyptian Revolution

In the TedTalk presented by Wael Ghonim, Let’s design social media that drives real change, Ghonim outlined reasons for the rise and fall of the Egyptian Revolution. Ghonim’s presentation picked strings and painted a picture I could not see nor understand until afterward.

“We Are All Khaled Said.” A page saturated with glimpses of hope and dreams of change and a possibility of a new era. What once was page homing a community where shared common grievances were kept safe, and many moments of “I’m not alone” were once invited became a “battleground filled with trolls, lies, and hate speech.”

Ghonim expands on the critical problem of polarization that I want to expand on. He said, 

“while polarization is driven by individual behavior, it is social media that shape this behavior and magnifies its impact.”

Think about that for a second, and let that sink in. This is not some foreign concept; this is everywhere. And it is a problem that we are responsible for solving.

 There are five critical challenges facing social media:

1. 1. 1. We don’t know how to deal with rumors 
      2. We create our own echo chambers 
      3. Online discussion descends into angry mobs 
      4. It became tough to change our opinions 
      5. Today, social media experiences are designed in a way that favors broadcasting over engagements, posts over discussions, and shallow comments over deep conversations (where we are talking at each other, not with each other) 

 The Egyptian Revolution failed because of polarization between two groups, where people in the center felt helpless: and social media was the culprit of this fall.

 So how can social media be part of the solution of polarization, not part of the problem? Ghonim provides critical steps that we can take.

 When posting online, promote thoughtfulness and focus more on quality. Posts gain traction and eyes when they are almost outlandish and constantly project opinions—creating more incentives for readers to engage in conversations and reward people for responding to views that they disagree with. Reverse the stigma that people can’t change their minds. We need effective crowdsourcing mechanisms to fact-check information and reward the people who take part in that effort—aid in creating a system that reflects rewarding thoughtfulness, civility, and mutual understanding.

 The lessons learned from social media and the web during the Egyptian Revolution are one to take note of. Let’s be part of the solution to ensure that we can liberate the internet to benefit, not damage, citizens, and democracies that rely on them.

Citation:

Ghonim, Wael. “Let’s Design Social Media That Drives Real Change.” TedGlobal,
Dec. 2015, Geneva. Speech.