Former Foreign Affairs Minister, George Yeo, said that Social Media has made huge changes to the way social hierarchies exist.
He was speaking at the 10th anniversary conference of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy where he gave the example: “In the past, a child could become an emperor because he’s all dressed up, protected by courts, by music, by distance, and people bow. Today, the cameras are everywhere, the microphones are everywhere. And if you’re not authentic, well, you’ll be laughed at. The emperor has no clothes.”
He explained that thanks to social media, hierarchies all around the world are being questioned and the social structure is actually eroding.
Mr Yeo said that for now, we are still in the stage where traditional systems are being brought down and while there is the forming of some new systems which value different things, these are not strong yet. He said we are still in the “destructive phase”.
He also highlighted how the further away the elite is from the majority, the less satisfied the people will be.
Mr Yeo also warned that social media is accelerating this destruction and sometimes, it is used to distort and is even deliberately manipulated to influence people’s views.
It is not clear whether Mr Yeo was implying that this destruction of social hierarchies thanks to social media was a positive or a negative thing.
It seems more that he was simply making an observation that times are changing and social media and the internet are catalysing that change.
Indeed, times have changed in Singapore thanks to social media.
In the past, the PAP controlled all the media as print media was heavily regulated and the top management within news companies were former PAP executives.
The people could only access the propaganda news and there was no alternative. The dissidents were divided and whatever the PAP said and put in the media was seen as the truth.
Now, Singaporeans are more eager to question to government and with this change, the PAP’s hold on power is slipping.