New Media

The two articles talk mainly about the pros and cons of the new media; mainly the internet. The first article talks more about the positive side of the internet. It states that the internet is a useful medium through which democracy could be practiced by voicing out views through things such as blogging. However it also states that the information on the internet can be manifested and even untrue. Article 2 states that the internet can be a dangerous tool which people can use for their selfish needs and to influence or radicalize others.

The new media can often be a threat to stability but sometimes be a source of power to the people.

The power of expressing ones emotions freely is one major benefit that the new media offers us. The internet as said by the first article can be used to express ones views on any issue which would otherwise be restricted in traditional forms of media such as newspapers which do so to prevent any conflicts arousing from any provocative comments. The internet through its features such as you tube, blogs or more recently face book allow people to freely express their view without revealing their identity if they do not want to. The internet, with its weaker restrictions allows people to post ongoing news on certain sensitve issues that otherwise would not have been published in the traditional media. This allows people to know more about what is actually going on behind the scenes. In this way, the new media actually gives people power.

However, the new media can also be a threat to our stability. Examples of people who can use the internet to cause mayhem are terrorists or extremists. These people can use new media such as the internet to influence people through appealing extremist ideas to join their ranks and become part of their illegal organizations just like how the lawyer Abdul Basheer Abdul Kadir who was influenced by radical media online.

Cyber-terrorism is the leveraging of a target's computers and information technology, particularly via the Internet, to cause physical, real-world harm or severe disruption of infrastructure. It can be used in the form of Cyber-terror which can also affect internet-based businesses due to the downtime created by cyber criminals through false information and influence. An example would be the incident in 1999 where hackers who were protesting against the NATO bombings in Kosovo. The computers in NATO flooded them with email and hit them with a denial of service and institutions were bombarded with highly politicized emails containing viruses from other European countries.

Responding to Jia Hao’s entry, I agree that the youth are one of the the most vulnerable to being influenced by the internet since they use it most frequently and their emotional minds are very easily manipulated by the extremist and radical ideas. I also agree with Hui Min that the new media is a potential threat to multi-racial Singapore since it allows comments on sensitive issues such as racial ones to be posted uncensored to the public and this may cause racial tensions. Thus we should learn to trust each other and practice tolerance when necessary and prevent social instability in Singapore at any cost.