Gen-Z Activists Spark Asia Protests, Highlighting Social Media's Power and Perils
Social media has emerged as a potent tool for activists globally, but it also presents challenges and risks. Recent protests in Asia, led by Gen-Z activists, highlight both the potential and pitfalls of online mobilization.
In Indonesia, protests erupted in late August due to proposed welfare cuts and increased power concentration. Meanwhile, in South Korea, Gen-Z activists demanded accountability and equality from the older generation of independence leaders, frustrated with corruption and inequality. They mobilized using smartphones and social media platforms like TikTok to share real-time images and organize protests.
Social media enables young people to connect personal experiences of injustice to broader structures of inequality, generating collective grievances and emotions. In Nepal, Gen-Z demonstrators took to the streets, using the hashtag #nepobabies to denounce nepotism and patronage politics that limit social and economic opportunities.
While social media connectivity allows strangers to unite around common causes, it also exposes activists to vulnerabilities. Overreliance on social media for collective action heightens the risks of digital crackdowns and long-term repression. Authoritarian regimes often respond to online dissent with censorship and armed repression, which can backfire and spark larger mobilizations. However, these actions can also make it difficult for protest movements to secure lasting democratic gains.
These protests are part of a fifteen-year wave of youth-led movements, including the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, and pro-democracy protests in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Social media provides a space for activists to exchange tactical knowledge, fostering learning networks, as seen in the #MilkTeaAlliance.
Social media mobilization can be a double-edged sword, exposing activists to structural and tactical vulnerabilities while also enabling collective action and forging group identities. Recent protests in Asia demonstrate the potential and challenges of using social media for social and political change.
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