Social media & uprisings: The case of the Egyptian revolution in 2011

Abstract

The present exploratory study adopts the case of the 2011 Egyptian Uprising, as it is particularly illustrative of the climacteric impact of technology on past social and societal conflicts. The latter will be achieved through a systematic review of literature which examines the different ways through which social media was used, as well as the impact it had on facilitating social change with regards to the Egyptian Revolution. The research problem aims to examine the different ways through which social media was used during the Egyptian Uprising, as well as the impact it had on facilitating social change. It caters to a discovery-oriented decision problem and focuses on revealing how social media influences social change while shedding light particularly on the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and the implications social media carried towards it. The conducted exploratory study adequately demonstrates that social media is found to have an undeniable influence on social change, especially as it has been adopted across various phases of the uprising, including its utilization for the initial formation of communities, as well as for promoting the collective movement. Findings of this study will be of great value to future academic studies, as it serves to depict social media as a mechanism of information dissemination in the Arab and/or non-Arab world, whilst correlating to the varied utilities of social media during times of crises and the impact it had on facilitating social change.