Social media does do a good job linking us all up
A hunt for the driver of a pink taxi with the licence-plate number "Tor [Tahan] Sor [Sala] 856" was sparked online on Thursday morning when the mainstream media directed a spotlight at the cabbie, leading to his arrest in Samut Prakan
This case was a perfect example of how social media have started playing a very important role in boosting the reach of mainstream media. Thanks to social media, many cases reach the public arena quickly and, more often than not, are just as quickly solved under the public eye.
This is possibly because nearly a third of the population is hooked up online, since Thailand has 22 million Facebook users, 18 million Line users and 2.2 million Twitter users.
Imagine what would have happened with the case of the pink-taxi driver if there had been no social media – he might have got away, with his victims suffering separately instead of sharing experiences and joining up to take action.
Now that social media have linked up with mainstream media, their power to inform and warn the masses has more than doubled.
For instance, in this cabbie’s case, people have been able to speak freely of his demands for money and intimidating behaviour.
On Wednesday, a woman posted a message online lambasting him for banging her car on a Bangkok road and the message was widely shared, bringing the man to other people’s attention.
Social media have fast become a part of people’s lives and often play a key role in reflecting society’s mood. For instance, it reflected soccer fans’ “bad mood” over TrueVision’s loss of English Premier League broadcast rights, while those watching the madness in Parliament could exchange ideas on the “beauty or brains” row that erupted between Pheu Thai MP Khattiya Sawatdiphol and Democrat MP Nattaya Benjasiriwan.
Apart from voicing ideas, people can get real-time traffic reports, share lifestyle tips, exchange views on television soap operas and discuss soccer matches. Social media also help us keep up with current world events such as the Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco, the birth of Prince George, the bloody crackdown in Egypt and the alleged chemical-gas attack in Syria.
In conclusion, social media are not just good at connecting people, they also help reflect the movement of societies the world over.
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