Abstract
Social media has been integral to the 2011 Cairo revolts. This recent unrest phenomenon was led by the country’s youth. These social and political movements were facilitated by social media. For the first time, we see a larger role of Information Systems affording opportunities at the national level to implement political and social reforms conceived, formulated and driven by people’s needs. Motivated by the rise of social media usage as a medium for political change, the goal of this study is to understand the influence of social media on activism, social movement, and political change, using the 2011 Cairo revolts as a case study. Our sincere hope is that IS researches will investigate the larger role of Information Systems and Technologies in our social and political systems, both for the benefit of business organizations as well as for the larger society.
Recommended Citation
Maghrabi, Rozan and Salam, A.F., "Social Media, Social Movement and Political Change: The Case of 2011 Cairo Revolt" (2011). ICIS 2011 Proceedings. 8.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2011/proceedings/humancapital/8
Social Media, Social Movement and Political Change: The Case of 2011 Cairo Revolt
Social media has been integral to the 2011 Cairo revolts. This recent unrest phenomenon was led by the country’s youth. These social and political movements were facilitated by social media. For the first time, we see a larger role of Information Systems affording opportunities at the national level to implement political and social reforms conceived, formulated and driven by people’s needs. Motivated by the rise of social media usage as a medium for political change, the goal of this study is to understand the influence of social media on activism, social movement, and political change, using the 2011 Cairo revolts as a case study. Our sincere hope is that IS researches will investigate the larger role of Information Systems and Technologies in our social and political systems, both for the benefit of business organizations as well as for the larger society.