Tunisia’s Revolution extended to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Algeria, Sudan, Syria, and Lebanon among others to form what was known by the “Arab Spring”. In Lebanon, Facebook was the popular application among citizens, who used it to follow up the updated events in Tunisia and other Arab countries. Therefore, they were influenced by such events. Publishing a “post” on this application was a breathing space to express frustration regarding the structure of the regime and unmodified laws. They published the slogan: “people want to overthrow the regime.” The colleagues in universities, friends and youth groups communicated with each other, in particular, to unify slogans and claims, and determine the place and time to start. Consequently, hundreds of Lebanese (friends of friends and their families) met the calls that were published. Facebook showed that 2,656 people were ‘interested”, but hundreds of them already participated in the protests of February 2011.
Equation: media bring youth to another side
From this point forward, one can say that social media tried to bring youth to its side at a certain stage, but we notice that youth are trying to win these platforms nowadays. This means that the equation is reciprocal. Many traditional media sought to be on digital spaces, and tried to ask questions to their followers, for instance. Some of them gave followers some time to vote on a specific issue that would enhance communication between followers, who were mostly young. This matter contributed to a higher “trend” and more “hashtags” to denounce or support a particular idea. For instance, there are youth groups created on Facebook to have a dialogue between each other on the platform or have their own public opinion. Digital youth initiatives are often launched. Such initiatives are directly specified by and to youth.
In this context, the journalist and fact checker Mahmoud Ghzayyel said that along with expansion of platforms and the growing frequency of the internet in the Arab region and worldwide, one cannot stay attached to the TV screen or newspaper or anything. Media is available through smart devices with simple layout to express the youth views.
While most youth use “mobile”, the traditional media noticed that they were losing an essential element, i.e the youth element. The traditional media institutions are trying to “join forces” to balance between their traditional shows and digital materials. “Therefore, “hashtags” for TV shows emerged to access youth. Traditional media tried to reduce the gap between its tradition and digitalization,” said Ghzayyel. These media made a change to say that they didn’t need to try to attract people on the traditional media only, but also the people who reacted to them on digital media.
Youth are a compass to enhance “smooth” dialogue
After many years of traditional media coverage, Al Jazeera Channel launched its account on TikTok about two months ago. According to a study by Influence Marketing Hub, in partnership with Refersion in 2022, TikTok has around 39.91% of youth (18-24 years old), and this is a clear indicator of the aspiration of media to bring youth to their side. Al Jazeera resorted to digitalize it TV content by launching social media platforms, mainly “Maydan”, which publishes documentaries, and the Arabic and English versions of “AJ+”.
With a simple audio-visual content limited to few minutes, Al Jazeera contributed to access youth. The channel followed by more than 45 million TV viewers noticed that following up the most enthusiast category to arguments and discussion was an additional feature for it. The “AJ+” was imitated by many actors due to its quality and seriousness, as we find in the “comments” alone large discussions based on the on the published media material. This included non-traditional analytical shows by using the “beyond the norm” strategy that often tried to win youth, such as “A salit el ekhbari” ("السليط الإخباري") that had a youth team.
The same channel established “Al Jazeera Podcasts” in many political, historical, social, and art shows among others, which attracted youth listeners, in particular, away from the traditional show that didn’t usually impress them. Through this strategy, dialogue between youth will be taken for granted, when they store the information transmitted to them smoothly, and dismantle that media code in a simple and fast way.
According to a study by the National Literacy Trust charity on “the participation of youth in podcasts in 2021” in the United Kingdom, 63% of youth between 16 and 34 years old listened to the content of podcasts. One out of two listeners (54.2%) said that one of the benefits of listening to the podcasts was “hearing the views and thoughts of different people.” This matter is certainly a motivation to enhance the dialogue skills, so to speak.
“Peacebuilding dialogues and podcast series enable and encourage children and young people to explore their feelings and to play an active role in bringing their peers and communities back together,” said UNICEF South Africa Representative, Christine Muhigana in a press conference on February 11, 2022. The organization launched a three-part podcast series that activated discussions between youth to “express themselves and share views and solutions on mental health and the impact of disorders,” which triggered reactions by the participants.
In the same context, dialogue can be in different forms for who has an art sense too. “Umm Kulthum and secrets of greatness” ("أم كلثوم وخبايا العظمة"). Who imagined that young people would be interested in this podcast episode of Al Jazeera Rumooz that tells the life story of an old singer whose songs were listened by our ancestors many years ago? This was followed by many repeated questions by the youth audience on the secrets of that episode. Some of them discussed the episode and presented facts on the journey of Umm Kulthum through their social media accounts to reject or confirm this episode.
“Social media provided a wide range of topics that may be addressed to the public audience easily without restrictions,”, said Jad Shahrour, Communications Officer at Samir Kassir Foundation. While Arabic countries experience severe life crisis, social media provided a cover for the protests where youth moved away from the State’s restrictions or capital.
Promising digital platforms: “thinking again”
During the Revolution of October 17, 2019 in Lebanon, many people did not wait for the “Vox Pop” interviews adopted by TV channels in such events. Instead, people, who wanted to share their political views, selected platforms similar to Twitter, Facebook, or the group audio app clubhouse without being restricted by the “live media” provided by a specific media. In this period, in particular, that digital audio platform became popular among Lebanese people. Each person created a “room” with a specific dialogue title, where media officers participated then to discuss with youth the political issues that emerged from the Revolution of October 17.
The new media understood that it was not a requirement that media content had to be in a newspaper, on the radio, or TV, but electronic. Shahrour said that pages like Megaphone, Daraj, and Raseef22 among others drew strength from the content published on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or the website.
All these platforms “seek to shed light on the youth concerns, including topics related to the LGBTQ community, for instance. The publication of a content on a minority group, and youth too, classified as a taboo in our communities, is alone a factor of critical thinking and enhances questions and dialogue. The same platforms receive queers, for instance, to give them the opportunity to express their views and introduce the concepts they believe in away from a “one-sided dialogue” that was supported by most traditional media institutions.
However, Shahrour said that the same sites “provided a room for the repressive political institutions to create electronic armies” that limit the concepts of dialogue that enhance the freedom of expression. This is an integral part of the Lebanese reality, as these armies attack every person who promote human rights under the pretext of a “relationship with embassies or betrayal”, said Shahrour, while this matter provided a room for global organizations to publish solidarity campaigns on human rights across the globe.
The Jaafar Talk broadcasted by the German channel Deutsche Welle on TV and digitally was a thorough space to share dialogue between different views. This show has been subject to severe critics by some followers, as it tackled topics that were not discussed on media “regularly”. “Difference as the beginning of dialogue” is the slogan selected by the show to address the issues of women, the LGBTQ community, and the topics of liberation from the religious or patriarchal authority. All these ideas were raised by the show. The show developed its dialogues based on the formula of a concurring view vs. an opposite view. It resorted to showing some comments in the episodes too. It provided guests with the same time to express their thoughts upon an equal interactive method. At this level, we can say that using the rules of dialogue in digital shows is a secret of their success in enhancing the principle “thinking again” of the issues established in communities.
If we look into the digital media from two sides, they will certainly have some loopholes that have enhanced the hate speech in the dialogues held through them. However, we can say that this is the responsibility of the interlocutors themselves and the platform itself, and does not eliminate the leading role of such media in enhancing dialogue. Many people found safe spaces to express their views and accepted critics, opposition, or even support to such views.
These platforms that were created to bring youth dialogues to their side, or the media that became digital, are a good evidence of the market need for dialogues. This happens as the podcast and the digital content that determine the “youth trend” are becoming stronger. Due to the freedom available on these media, the media contributed to create shows liked by this category. The language of media changed to include the interactive dialogue in their materials. All this information is a path to build an inclusive youth digital future that appeals to have dialogue on the dos and don’ts.