The social media can widen political horizons

Politicians are increasingly using the social networks – for all the media’s inherent triviality – to generate discussion on the serious issues. It takes a measure of courage for someone of that much-derided profession to wade into the online free-for-all, but, once adept at dodging the slings and arrows of the cruellest cynics, they have much to gain by being directly involved in the dialogue. And politics might well be rendered more effective as a result.

Sports and entertainment figures have long utilised the social media to great effect. Opening up to the fans generates more fans (and more fame), after all. As well, those who are receptive to the ideas and opinions of the general public are in a position to effect changes in their industries. 

For politicians, it’s a riskier proposition. They have their own fans of a sort, of course, but having a presence on the sharing media also means they’re open to criticism, and it’s often hostile. Citizens are acutely sensitive to spin and bald-faced propaganda from their elected representatives and candidates for office. Little obfuscation from officialdom is tolerated.

It is heartening that national leaders in Southeast Asia are embracing the social media more and more. While our own Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha seems content with his TV appearances and press conferences, Cambodia’s Hun Sen is now on Facebook and relishing in the fun side of the sharing, recently posting 10 photos of his family, including one of him sitting with his grandchildren on a bed. Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong is an old hand with the social networks and more serious about them. Malaysia’s Najib Razak keeps up a running dialogue with followers online in the Malay language.

In Myanmar, where Internet services are only now becoming widespread, outgoing President Thein Sein maintains a predictably formal social-media presence through his office, but the Army commander, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is fond of sharing his daily life on Facebook, though he mainly discusses the military and politics. He even posted the gist of his meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi on his page in Burmese, some of it helpfully translated into English.

It’s important that political leaders realise their exposure on the social media can help them understand the needs and feelings of the populace and how their policies affect ordinary people. For all their flaws – the mindless repetition, the hazards of misinformation, the knee-jerk alarms – the networks offer a window on the world. For every inane photo of someone’s dinner, there’s an incisive comment about important issues of a social, environmental, economic – or political nature.

Politicians are well advised to participate in the social media and learn to utilise them for the betterment of society and not just self-promotion. Activists and lobbyists are always pushing their varied and dubious agendas on Twitter and the other platforms, but the real issues are being discussed in earnest everywhere, to be grasped, interpreted and acted upon meaningfully.

One-way political communication is becoming obsolete and the need for opinion polls is weakening. Public surveys simply don’t have the same reach as the social networks. They fail to capture the full picture of citizen resentment, desperation and need, and the results are all too often warped by political or commercial influence. What you see posted in the comment sections online, by contrast, is generally free speech offered without heed to sponsorship or censorship.

The politician who offers his face to Facebook can expect it to be figuratively photoshopped into a shooting target. There will be incoming missiles. The trick for them in using the social media successfully lies in absorbing the invective and forging it into useful ideas and actions. Much good advice and constructive criticism will come too. Their response will define whether they truly represent the people in this new era of politics.