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Whenever this term comes up, I always say that I am not a “netizen”. I’m a Singaporean who just so happens to use online platforms to express my views. (This is an especially crucial point seeing that Singaporean society has been set up such that there really aren’t that many other platforms to express yourself on in the first place.)
Dr Lam Pin Min recently dubbed social media the Wild Wild West of the Internet.
In a country where the Internet and social media is described by the government as the “Wild West” and constantly linked to “lies and misinformation”, the term “netizen” begins to carry negative – or at the very least, dodgy – connotations. So much so that when the term “netizens” is being used, you almost see how it is really a euphemism for “a bunch of anonymous loons”, even if the group of people in question aren’t actually anonymous, or loony.
In this context, the term “netizen” is also alienating. Just imagine that you are reading a news report and it says......
- http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/10/netizen-thats-not-what-my-passport-says/
Dr Lam Pin Min recently dubbed social media the Wild Wild West of the Internet.
In a country where the Internet and social media is described by the government as the “Wild West” and constantly linked to “lies and misinformation”, the term “netizen” begins to carry negative – or at the very least, dodgy – connotations. So much so that when the term “netizens” is being used, you almost see how it is really a euphemism for “a bunch of anonymous loons”, even if the group of people in question aren’t actually anonymous, or loony.
In this context, the term “netizen” is also alienating. Just imagine that you are reading a news report and it says......
- http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/10/netizen-thats-not-what-my-passport-says/
