The Impact of Mass Social Media Usage on Participatory Democracy

Figure 1 “Chong Qing Superman” expressing discourse about COVID-19 policy in China
“Better to die than to live without freedom” Said by “Chong Qing Superman” on November 24, 2024. A video surfaced showing a man with a Superman backpack passionately criticizing Chinese COVID-19 policies at the entrance of a Chongqing residential area expressing discontent with the strict policies and lockdowns. This video instantly went viral on social media, reflecting public dissatisfaction with the extensive COVID-19 policy, and stimulating the public to seek a democratic way to make their own decisions about their country. The original video gained tons of compliments and support from the public on social media. However, this video was banned by all Chinese social media.

In recent times, an escalating number of individuals have observed a heightened prevalence of political content on social media platforms, particularly during the big change in law and policies. Those who harbor discontent or discomfort with political policies often find an outlet for expression on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. A discernible trend has emerged, wherein people exhibit a growing willingness and passion to voice their opinions and sentiments on social issues. coinciding with the worldwide pandemic, dissatisfaction with law changes has spurred a surge in protests against such measures on social media. Consequently, this exploration aims to bring ourselves closer to politics, foster a global citizen mindset, understand worldwide democratic protest events, and delve deeper into the ways social media shapes democracy. This project is targeting audiences who have less sense of politics and who are interested in political science. I hope this article can broaden readers’ political perspectives, guide those interested in politics into the field of political science, and serve as a catalyst for further exploration.

Democracy is a form of government where power is vested in the hands of the people, either directly or through elected representatives. It emphasizes the principles of equal participation, representation, and the protection of individual rights. In a democratic system, citizens have the right to express their views, contribute to decision-making processes, and participate in shaping the policies that govern their society.

 

Figure 2 This image symbolizes the 26th Amendment ensuring the right to vote for U.S. citizens aged 18 and older

As we continue our exploration of democracy, let’s now shift our focus to a simple analogy. Arnstein states a concept called the “ladder of participation” (1969) which illustrates the level and status of democracy. According to Arnstein’s “ladder of participation,” It includes three levels, non-participation through tokenism to citizen power. In Arnstein’s theory, we can self-examine our status of participatory democracy in our country. Besides, there is another measurement that is widely used to measure the state of democracy and is centrally concerned with political institutions and freedoms.

Figure 3 Map showing countries/territories by Democracy Index score according to the 2022 report
We can determine that most developed countries have a higher democracy index and developing countries have a much lower democracy index. Democracy countries show lighter color on the world map while Authoritarian countries show darker color on the entire map.

After reviewing the concepts and background information, let’s dive into the current political issues happening around us worldwide. For sure, The Ohio issue 1 comes first. Before discussing this meaningful vote result, let’s look back to another landmark US Supreme Court decision – Roe v. Wade. Basically, this case involved a woman named Jane Roe, who challenged the federal laws that criminalized abortion except to save the life of a mother. The super court ruled the woman had her own right to have an abortion in a certain time period such as 6 weeks, which varies among different states. The decision established a woman’s legal right to have an abortion, Roe v. Wade has been a subject of ongoing legal, political, and social debate, with advocates and opponents continuing to discuss and challenge its implications over the years. With the progression of time, there has been a notable transformation in the landscape of women’s rights to choose abortion, reshaping the discourse on reproductive freedom. Publics in Ohio are not satisfied with the current situation and they are finding innovation for legal abortion time period. Then Ohio issue 1 emerged out of nowhere. November 2023 Ohio issue 1 refers to a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment that was adopted on November 7, 2023, by a majority of 56.5% of voters (“Ohio Issue 1 Election Results: Establish a Constitutional Right to Abortion,” 2023). Social media, acting as a powerful catalyst, has played a pivotal role in amplifying awareness and underscoring the significance of the legalization of abortion. Here are some examples of how social platform fosters a broader awareness of legal reform. A piece of significant news called “10-year-old rape victim forced to travel from Ohio to Indiana for abortion” written by Edward Helmore (2022) Unleashed a massive surge of public reactions. It concerns A ten-year-old girl from Columbus who drove to Indiana on June 30, 2022, to have an abortion because Ohio’s abortion laws did not make an exception for minors who were raped and became pregnant.

Figure 4 Comments from YouTube video reports about Ohio 10-year-old rape case (up)

Figure 5 Leaflet encourages OSU students to vote Yes on Ohio issue one (bottom)

 

Obviously, we can determine that social media reports increase the number of people to know the existence of this issue and make people keep in mind the drawbacks of current abortion laws and policies. It significantly plants the seeds for future 2023 Ohio issue 1 democratic vote. Besides the viral-liked widespread news on social media about women’s rights between laws, feminists and activists used leaflets to encourage all citizens in Ohio to vote Yes on issue 1. Referring to the figure 5, it’s a leaflet I received currently distributed by activists encouraging students to vote yes on Ohio issue one and introducing the benefits if students vote yes. Looking back on the topic, we can determine that wide usage of social media can increase participatory democracy. In other words, it can boost vote totals and better reflect the public’s opinion. Meanwhile, the widespread information about encouragement toward certain directions may lead to results skewed and misleading. So, it becomes to economic battle between two opposite groups. According to the research announcement from the University of Maryland, it is said that social media users can hardly resist being reminded to vote and encouraged to do so; even though these platforms have a significant influence on policy, they actively encourage individuals to cast ballots (Golbeck, 2020).

Having concluded our discussion on the democratic voting events in the United States, let’s now shift our focus to the Chinese democracy issue, delving into its unique political contexts and progression.

The most significant democratic issue in current China is the A4 Protest. Before we dive into the compelling story that happened in China in 2022, let’s get familiar with the Chinese political context. Referring to the democracy index given by England journal company “Economist”, China is under a Dictatorship by the Chinese communist party. There is almost no chance of letting ordinary citizens vote for any laws and participate in decision-making. The zero-Covid policy assigned by the CCP made Chinese citizens too stressed and tired of the extremely strict lockdown policy. Since the start of the pandemic, there has been growing dissatisfaction with the policy, which has kept many people unemployed and confined to their houses while preventing others from getting basic requirements. 24 November building fire in Ürümqi (Dihua) that killed ten people has become the trigger for the A4 protest in various regions of China. Some people believed that it’s the crazy strict lockdown policy made victims cannot evacuate from the building. Various regions in the world began to take to the streets in a march to commemorate those who perished in the blaze and call on the Chinese government for democratic reforms and the easing of pandemic controls. They were holding a piece of “plain white paper” to express their rants and anger towards to government because expressing personal political dissent in China may result in punitive measures. (Figure 6)

Figure 6 Chinese protesters were holding a white paper

The Chinese government ultimately abandoned the Zero-Covid policy, reopening in-person interactions ahead of schedule, and launched a large-scale crackdown on social media content related to protests. Of course, successful nationwide protests can’t lack promotion from social platforms. Also, how strict censorship of Chinese social media contributes to democracy made us explore further. Here are some examples shown in the following.

 

Figure 7 A pivotal social media influencer that gives the public a way to get information about the protest. (up)

Figure 8 A video released by a BBC reporter shows two Chinese police to force people deleting photos about protests. (bottom)

Twitter account “whyyoutouzhele” is popular throughout the entire protest process, Chinese people submit local news and protest information to this account that can’t be censored by the Chinese government. The Existence of this account increases the exposure of the events to the public, allowing more information about the protests to circulate online. This action also makes more Chinese people aware of the flaws in one-party authoritarian rule, prompting calls for democratization reforms. Referring to Figure 8 shows the CCP disrespecting news freedom. Looking back to the people’s demand for protest. A4 protest succeeded in letting the government cancel the zero-Covid policy. However, Following the government’s decision to end the ‘Zero-Covid’ policy, the majority of protesters fell silent, no longer persisting in their calls for democratization reforms. This has resulted in the suppression of voices advocating for democracy and freedom, allowing China’s one-party rule to persist. It leads to continuous online censorship making Chinese social media unlikely to contribute to participatory democracy. However, this protest is considered the largest since the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident in China. The historical significance of this event is extraordinary, praising the courage of the people in their pursuit of rights.

This research’s main theme is to find an innovative way that combine the characteristics of social media and democracy. The emergence of social media brings lots of new characteristics to society. According to research (Loader & Mercea, 2014), we can determine that we come across significantly more depressing narratives about citizens’ disinterest in democratic governance, especially among the youth. Indicators of the ailing state of the democratic body politic include low voter turnout. However, the mass usage of social platforms can bring some merits for society as well. According to Loader and Mercea (2014), social media has the ability to reconfigure communicative power relations. In other words, highly autonomous self-media on social media are conveying to the public more unique and diversely sourced political content beyond the singular perspective of the government. For example, online social media users care more about civil engagement which is related to the kinds of identity or daily lifestyle political issues such as environmentalism, sexuality, gender, and consumer activism. They are likely to provide evidence that young people’s political culture is innovative in focusing on issues directly tied to their daily lives. Mass social media usage also enables social media to counterbalance one-side government narratives. For example, Figure 10 shows ordinary people posting the protests that happened around them in real-time about the Ferguson unrest which governments are unlikely to let the public know.

Figure 9 Results from Instagram searching gun control

Figure 10 Ordinary people were posting real-time protests happened in real-time.
Figure 9 shows that lots of results popped up when searching for gun control on Instagram. A lot of them got thousands of likes. As a social media that is widely used by the young, it reflects the real positions of the young generation.

As we explore the amalgamation of participatory democracy with social media, it’s apparent that the utilization of digital platforms presents a dynamic political tool. This synergy not only encourages active citizen involvement in political discussions but also stands as a transformative force in reshaping conventional political processes toward a more inclusive and transparent democratic landscape. Referring to the two innovative regions’ schemes that utilize digital platforms to serve participatory democracy. In Audrey’s article What the World Can Learn from Taiwan’s digital democracy (2022), we can tell that they have the country’s online platform, join.gov.tw, and everyone can write a petition. Their related minister will hold a face-to-face meeting to discuss available policies to incorporate with the top petition twice a month. Digital democracy platforms aim to increase citizen engagement, promote broader social participation, and make government decision-making more transparent and democratic. They provide a channel for the public to interact directly with the government and contribute to more direct participation in the political process.

As we navigate the intricate intersection of participatory democracy and social media, the transformative potential of digital platforms becomes increasingly apparent. The dynamic political tool created by this synergy not only encourages active citizen involvement in political discussions but also stands as a formidable force reshaping conventional political processes toward a more inclusive and transparent democratic landscape. Ultimately, the integration of participatory democracy and social media offers a promising avenue for shaping the future of democratic governance, empowering individuals to play an active role in the decisions that affect their lives.

Reference
Arnstein, S. R. (1969). A Ladder Of Citizen Participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944366908977225

Helmore, E. (2022, July 3). 10-year-old rape victim forced to travel from Ohio to Indiana for abortion. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/03/ohio-indiana-abortion-rape-victim

Loader, B. D., & Mercea, D. (2014). Social media and democracy: Innovations in participatory politics. Routledge.

Moore, H., & Hinckle, M. (2020, November 3). Social Media’s Impact on the 2020 Presidential Election: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Division of Research. https://research.umd.edu/articles/social-medias-impact-2020-presidential-election-good-bad-and-ugly

Nast, C. (2022, January 24). What the World Can Learn From Taiwan’s Digital Democracy. Wired UK. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/global-neighbourhoods-digital-democracy

Ohio Issue 1 Election Results: Establish a Constitutional Right to Abortion. (2023, November 7). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/07/us/elections/results-ohio-issue-1-abortion-rights.html

Ohio rape case that led to 10-year-old getting abortion in Indiana verified | USA TODAY. (2022, July 16). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goRkRKoIbfw