In this modern society, most of what we do or say is restricted by the government. This is to ensure that we do not cause any conflict between different groups of people. In the past, the purpose of the media was to give people the information they needed, and to tell the truth. However, nowadays, the media has a team of editors to make sure that what they say falls within the ‘acceptable’ category, and thus not much freedom is given to them. This is especially true in Singapore where people of different races and religions coexist, hence the greater need for censorship of the media. However, with new media, the general public is allowed to express one’s views freely. Whether or not this is a good thing is a debatable issue.

With sites such as Youtube and discussion forums, people now have more platforms to express their views and takes on matters. In this open ground, there are no restrictions whatsoever- one states his or her opinions just as they are. This is good in the sense that the truth can be heard. The internet gives muted voices the power to speak- for example, an employee unhappy with the employer can express his views anonymously and not suffer any consequences for it. However, if he were to tell other employees about it, the employer may somehow get to know of it and his job could be at risk. Also, I think that new media has a wider audience than that of the ‘old’ media, such as newspapers and magazines. As youths are much more tech- savvy nowadays, they turn to the internet for information more than they do with the papers or the news on television. The convenience of the internet makes one less inclined to browse through the papers to read censored views- why read that when you can obtain the truth online? The internet is some sort of peaceful revolution, since opinions are shared and discussed openly. People can then source around until they decide on what Is th real truth and make informed decisions, instead of relying on the newspapers which tend to talk about what they think is the right thing to say, instead of the right thing itself. So yes, new media does give power to the people. It is the voice of the people and perhaps the only thing in this modern society that is liberal.

However, that being said, new media does give power to the people, but at what cost? The downside of new media is that the freedom of access to information on the internet may lead one to the wrong information. As stated in the second article, terrorist groups are making use of the internet to spread extreme ideas on the internet. Tech- savvy youths then self- radicalize themselves and end up as members of terrorist organizations. With more pornographic sites on the internet, unsuspecting youths may end up clicking on the wrong link and thus end up with a head start in sex education in the wrong way. Also, some opinions people post on the internet are offensive and disturbing. Take for example the film Fitna, which was produced by a Dutch politician. He abused the rights to freedom of speech and posted his take on the Islamic community online in the form of a film. This led to social tensions between the Islamic community and the Dutch government. Thus, one person’s perspective, when expressed on a global platform, will definitely be a threat to society.

Therefore, I conclude that although new media is power to the people, is more of a threat to stability, especially when in the wrong hands.