In the spring of 2011, the world watched as revolution after revolution swept the Middle East, starting in Tunisia, then Egypt and spreading all throughout the region. This domino effect of protests and revolutions gained worldwide attention and was coined the “Arab Spring”, as old, legitimate regimes were being overthrown one by one. Striking images, videos and scenes captured by civilians in the conflict were viewed by people all around the world with help from social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and even mainstream media. Together, the plight of the restless citizens who fought for a chance at a better life gained the world’s attention and showed that passion is in fact more powerful than force, which Arabic dictators such as
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People can get involved in their community in many ways, and social media is a useful tool for organization and collaboration. In order to unite, people must engage in political conversations and be aware and determined. Robert Putnam, a political scientist and public policy professor at Harvard University, discusses this idea of “social capital”, and argues that it is in decline. Putnam’s article, titled “Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America”, is slightly outdated as it was published in 1995. Putnam discusses a number of factors that he believes contributes to the decline of civic engagement, including the role of women in the workforce and poor economic times, however he argues the main cause of the decline of social capital is increased viewership and popularity of television. Putnam elaborates on his supposition:
Each hour spent viewing television is associated with less social trust and less group membership, while each hour reading a newspaper is associated with more. An increase in television viewing of the magnitude that the United States has experienced in the last four decades might directly account for as much as one quarter to one-half of the total drop in social capital. (Putnam
People can get involved in their community in many ways, and social media is a useful tool for organization and collaboration. In order to unite, people must engage in political conversations and be aware and determined. Robert Putnam, a political scientist and public policy professor at Harvard University, discusses this idea of “social capital”, and argues that it is in decline. Putnam’s article, titled “Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America”, is slightly outdated as it was published in 1995. Putnam discusses a number of factors that he believes contributes to the decline of civic engagement, including the role of women in the workforce and poor economic times, however he argues the main cause of the decline of social capital is increased viewership and popularity of television. Putnam elaborates on his supposition:
Each hour spent viewing television is associated with less social trust and less group membership, while each hour reading a newspaper is associated with more. An increase in television viewing of the magnitude that the United States has experienced in the last four decades might directly account for as much as one quarter to one-half of the total drop in social capital. (Putnam