Influence of calling on Internet
Talking about the inequality problems in Hong Kong, the hottest topic discussed by citizen is about parallel traders, no matter in which area you live in, we can see many parallel traders from China carrying their barrage, shopping in shops, buying all the goods and take it back to China for selling. Hong Kong citizen started to detest about those shopping action from parallel traders, they decided to call out people by using social media platform, helps to stop parallel traders to buying all the goods and stuck in the street, those operations is named as Recover operation.
“Recover operation is an action firstly started from 2012, by some citizens living in Sheung Shui, whose feeling annoying about parallel traders’ problem and government did not do somethings to solve out the problem, they use Facebook as a social media platform, encouraging people who are also living in Sheung Shui or suffering by the same problem to stand out, recover the place where they live."[1]
To compare the numbers of people joined those recover operation, we are able to see that there are around 150 to 200 people every time when somebody is encouraging people to join them by using Facebook. By searching the data recorded, more than 2000s people said they are going to join the operation in the Facebook post, but actually only 350 people go out to join the recovery operation.[2][3]
Other than recover Sheung Shui, there are also some similar protest that using Facebook as a social media platform to call on people go out and stand for their right, such as recover Yung Long or recover Sha Tin, protestors are using the same method to call on people to join. However, we can see that in those similar protest, although more than thousand people said they will join the recovery operation, the actual number of people joining the operation are much less than the people response to call on the Internet, in about 200 people joining each time in average. We are able to see that people are saying they are going to join the protest in social media platform, but they are just saying to do it not standing out to complete their words.
Actually, calling on the Internet is not new to us, starting from the Internet has been developed, we can see that there are many posts encouraging people to join different protests, such as 1st July protest or Memorial for the Tiananmen Protest, this method has been used for a long period. But the rising trend is started from more and more social media platform developed, citizen is easily to access to social media platform.
We can assume that social media platform could be a new place whether protestors using to call on people joining their events. In order to talk about the effectiveness, although the number actually joining those operations are much less than the expected numbers from media platform, there still a rising trend that more people are coming out, which means that more people are paying attention to what social media platform are sharing. We can predict that, calling on Internet will be more popular in the future, social media platform will become another place to let people fight for that right.
We understand that calling on the Internet is a raising trend nowadays, the most convenience and effective method to get more people to join different operations. We are able to see that mant protest or operation are using social media platform to encourage people to join them. Therefore, I am curious and going to talk about the impact of calling on the Internet.
Since the Internet and social media platform are well-developed, we can see different country started to use social media as a platform to encourage people to join their operation or promote their thought[6], some websites are raising out, which mainly focus in sharing their own point of view in particular events[7]. Some people mention that social media platform starting to replace traditional media, in the way that people are easier to access to the Internet, easier to share that views in social media platform, which people are not afraid to be share that own point of view.
According to research from 2003, published by Chung Ting Yiu and Chan Joseph Man, which discussing about how Internet can influence people to join different protest. In the research, one of the question is asking about the influence of calling among different groups of people toward citizen, we are able to see that over 50% of people are joining protest because of calling from online[8]. In the research, it also mentions that the influence of calling on Internet are unable to ignore. Back to 2018, we can see that calling on Internet become a power that able to influence people in some wordings.
Nowadays, we are easily to see different people sharing their point of view in particular event, some people are easily affected by their words or views, joining their operation which may be illegal. In November 2014, around hundred people are joining a protest which against Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 from calling on Internet, they are joining the protest because of some rumours.[9] Some of the protester also be arrested by police because of attacking police and property damage.
Call on Internet are convenience and can immediately getting people to join different operation. However, since we are able to publish different opinions, some may be rumours, some may be fake. If we talk about effectiveness of calling on Internet, it is most effective way to get people, but people also can use it to confuse others, sharing fake information. It is a two-side coin which we need to think clearly if we are really joining the operation of call on Internet.
Reference:
[1]網民號召「光復上水站」. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://the-sun.on.cc/cnt/news/20120915/00407_029.html
[2] 光復上水站. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/光復上水站#風沙行動
[3] 2015年光復行動. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://evchk.wikia.com/wiki/2015年光復行動
[4] 網民響應號召「光復上水」. (2013, January 05). Retrieved from https://news.now.com/home/local/player?newsId=55839&refer=
[5] 2015年光復行動. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://evchk.wikia.com/wiki/2015年光復行動
[6] 抗議美國徵稅 加國民眾抵制美國貨. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://hk.on.cc/int/bkn/cnt/news/20180615/bknint-20180615130436175-0615_17011_001.html
[7] 李立峯﹕傳統媒體與網絡媒體「攻防戰」 – 20140522 – 觀點 – 觀點. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://news.mingpao.com/pns/李立峯﹕傳統媒體與網絡媒體「攻防戰」/web_tc/article/20140522/s00012/1400694692776
[8] 七一啟示：網上動員引發民主新動力. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hkupop.hku.hk/chinese/columns/columns24.html
[9] Limited, N. M., & 香港蘋果日報. (2014, November 19). 先頭部隊衝完即閃 大混亂始於謠言. Retrieved from https://hk.news.appledaily.com/local/daily/article/20141120/18941582
[10] 社交網站不是社會運動的靈丹妙藥. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://app3.rthk.hk/mediadigest/content.php?aid=1979
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