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Mehdi Arabshahi

Until just a decade ago, the world of political and social activities was much simpler. Communication technologies had not yet advanced and there was no sign of online social networks. Slowly, Facebook and Twitter emerged and became tools for conveying political and social messages and organizing civil forces.

In Iran, for the first time in the 88 elections, this tool was taken seriously and played a significant role in the post-election protests and the Green Movement. Some foreign analysts even called these protests the “Twitter Revolution” and “Social Media Revolution”.

The response of the government is always the same response to any new and fresh phenomenon: it is forbidden and illegal and must be filtered.

Political and social activists were happy to have a tool for the first time that could bypass government censorship, even if it required the use of a filter. This is how their relative investment in online social networks began.

But this new phenomenon, like any other phenomenon, brings along with its advantages also disadvantages.

The emergence of virtual celebrities.

Success in social media was not as easy as political and civil activists had imagined. This space had its own unique conditions and in order to use it successfully, one had to be familiar with its techniques. Those who became famous on social networks were not necessarily the same people who had practical experience in the political and social world. In the world of organizational activities, you had to spend years and climb the ladder to maybe one day play a prominent role. This was how the top figures in this field knew each other and if they were not aware of each other’s backgrounds, they could easily find out with a little inquiry about which field a person came from and what experiences they had.

Virtual celebrities were not like this. They had not tasted the dust of political and social activism and had brought overnight fame to their heads with the support of their likes. Some had minimal experience in the real world and a group of these few had no real experience at all.

Hit the like button and get charged!

Social media algorithms, such as Facebook, are designed in a way that if your post receives more likes and comments, it will be shown to more people. According to this algorithm, those who are successful are the ones who evoke more love and hate. The more controversial your posts are, the more people will like it and comment, whether in agreement or disagreement. This is how your post will be seen by more people on their timelines and will receive even more likes and comments. This algorithm is the driving force behind creating false dichotomies, but with intense enmity towards each other. One group accuses the other of betraying national interests, while the second group labels the first as security and government infiltrators. But those who do not play this game are the ones who are seen the least and do not create chaos; they are the ones who do not receive likes, comments, or shares and are pushed to the margins and forgotten.

Virtual Pressure Group

In such a harsh and ruthless war, social media celebrities need each other’s help and conditional alliances are formed: Like mine so I can like yours!

These coalitions include several virtual celebrities and a larger number of their fans. Fans who are attracted to virtual celebrities and wish that one day they themselves could be one of these celebrities. But for now, they are still students!

Virtual pressure groups, regardless of their content, follow the same logic as pressure groups in the real world: any different voice must be silenced through intimidation and threats!

The subject of disputes may change from time to time, but the teams are almost the same as before. Sometimes we have to look for the traitor-servant or independent-governmental dualism in the “sanctions issue”, and sometimes the subject of dispute is the Women’s World Chess Championship in Tehran. The goal is only to silence the opposing voice and crush any opposition.

The necessity of refining the virtual public space.

These days, the virtual space has become heavily polluted. If once the online world was seen as a new public arena that was somewhat protected from government control, now this scene has become so contaminated that intellectuals have either left it or prefer to be spectators rather than actors. The space, instead of being conducive to critical conversation, has become more like a sports stadium. You have to blow your horn and shout slogans, and the louder you are, the better you are seen.

Perhaps we should throw out a new plan and ignore the collective influence of these virtual celebrities and pressure groups, and create an opportunity for the reformation of this field. Indeed, there are still better ways to use social networks.