FREE SPEECH
In digital age, youth leave mark on politics
When considering the emergence of online social media, what can we make of the political engagement of this generation of Thai students and youth?
Whenever we stop to consider the impact of Thai student activism on a national scale, the memories that are conjured up in particular recall the confrontations on the streets between the military government of the 1970s and the students of that generation who were calling for democracy.
In the digital era, with governments not yet able to completely control the flow of information of the new online social media, Thai students and youth are learning a new model of socio-political activism without resorting to attempts to incite any kind of revolution.
In the refuge of cyberspace, Thai students and youth are increasingly taking the opportunity for self expression offered by online dialogue, and especially through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
As it remains the case within Thailand that to openly and publicly challenge the paradigms set by the older generations is usually deemed inappropriate, the less direct nature of online interactions provides the opportunity for the younger generation to be able to express their feelings openly, and in a more socially acceptable context. This emerging dynamic can open up the debate, free up freedom of speech, and diversify what is considered to be an "acceptable" opinion in order that constraints can be lifted, and all voices can be heard.
If an open, positive, and meaningful debate is to be encouraged, then a great deal can be achieved when freedom of expression allows the societal tensions that have built up over time, to be released.
The choice increasingly made by students and the youth within Thailand today to spark debate through their online social networks need not be something that unduly unnerves the political establishment. Can the political leaders of today see the opportunity they have in all of this, to step up and positively engage with this emerging approach to social-political dialogue, and actively participate in its ongoing development, as a means towards free and open expression?
Although it is true to say that politicians often have quite an active online social media presence, we must be realistic enough to ask ourselves how much of this may be self-serving and politically expedient, and how much of this is really a genuine attempt to engage with these new generations, who as of yet may not even have cast a vote in an election.
When we look into the dynamics of many online discussions, it is obvious that many initially begin with somewhat pejorative throwaway comments often aimed at letting off steam and venting frustration. However, what it is interesting to note is that such comments can still act to ignite a debate that becomes more balanced and more fully considered, as others are drawn into the debate to contribute new perspectives.
A case in point is the initial fuss over Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's style of dress when meeting foreign dignitaries, and the ensuing furore, which was generated online. Highly pejorative and personal though these attacks may have been, nevertheless, this did lead many of those polarised minds to investigate further the protocols of diplomacy and dress code and, more importantly, what we should be expecting from our political leadership in the way in which they represent Thailand to the world.
This aspect in and of itself is strikingly positive, and may have acted to introduce many Thais to consider more deeply than ever, how the political process operates at the highest level. Such outcomes can be seen as positive developments when we aspire towards a greater level of engagement with the democratic process, regardless of however trivial the initial fuss generated may indeed have been.
Depending on circumstance, time and place, people may denounce student activism, when perhaps they have forgotten what it feels like to be young and full of passion for things. Others may privately support the activists, when it acts to remind them of their own youthful energy of earlier days. But are we being too romantic, when it comes to the notion of what it means to be an activist who may have to take personal risks in order to protest moral injustice?
Alternatively, might it just be the case that the emerging online socio-political dialogue, which represents the underrepresented voices of the students and the youth, is helping to alert the more responsive political elements within the existing political establishment to make the necessary changes, before the prospects are raised of societal crises emerging? This, after all, is what students and the youth have represented to the political establishment, historically around the world. Namely, that they act as the indicators of where society may be headed, regardless of the political entrenchment of the "old guard", and the more astute observers of a political system have of course, always been somewhat mindful of this dynamic.
Vijitra Sataporn, a high school student from Si Sa Ket argues: "I always want to attend the village public forum's budget, but I am not allowed, because I am only a kid. I think I am a member of this village, so I should have the right to attend." But in this digital era, Thailand's students and youth now have the opportunity afforded by the emergence of online social media and networking, to take on the role of representing to the country in an engaging and constructive manner, the issues that will be the priorities for the new generations, in helping to shape the country that they will inherit in the coming decades.
Titipol Phakdeewanich is a political scientist at the Faculty of Political Science, Ubon Ratchathani University
