So there are about one billion three hundred and ten million results found on this query in 0.55 seconds? I was actually considering my own experiences with social media over three years, when I lived and worked in two ‘less developed countries’, Laos and Solomon Islands, during the period 2017-2019. But I’m not sure I have anything new or original to add, if there are that many ‘relevant’ posts already!
Savannakhet, Lao PDR 2016-2017
In Laos I found that Facebook, WhatsApp, and no doubt other platforms, were used in a multitude of ways. As an outsider, everyone I met would ask me to link up with them on social media. I was resistant, I had made it a self proclaimed policy back then (2016) that I would only make ‘friends with’, or link with people I knew, and felt comfortable with. I seriously considered setting up a new FB profile that I could use so that my current friends and feeds did not get mixed in with my new friends and feeds.
Can I create multiple Facebook accounts? https://www.facebook.com/help/975828035803295/?ref=share
I didn’t bother setting myself up a new page/profile. It seemed many of those making requests wanted to simply link up, and thereby use our ‘friendship’ like a reference on their resume, which turned out to be not a problem for me. They did ‘like’ my posts, so we were somehow ‘connected’. In 2021 I still am connected to a number of these people. We share our news- often their posts are in Lao language, and I will translate it. I still have a friend who contacts me often – I used to sit down and ‘talk’ with her every day after work over a reviving beer lao, but we never really shared a common language. We now correspond via Facebook, and she says that she uses a translator app to maintain the conversation.
The culture and Lao context is very different to what many of us (in more ‘developed’ countries’ might know or expect. The college I worked at, the staff and many of my friends were very ‘rule oriented’, they loved their uniforms, conformity was applauded and expected. They laughed at my antics, wanted to learn from my English, and were amused at my non-conformist behaviour. Flip side was that I was an outsider in all ways, a source of curiosity and friendliness, but always on the periphery of the society, never really having access to the deep culture and beliefs of these people.
What I learnt about social media in this context was that it was a tool to make and retain connections, that for many it was a source of English language and mixed cultural examples, that Buddhist monks used social media and that in some ways, it contributed to opening up the world and possibilities of social and cultural connections and understandings. At the same time it was used by most people to communicate locally, and the more ‘friends’ on your list the more socially ‘successful’ you were seen to be. But on the other hand, these ‘connections’ are also heavily impacted upon by Covid and travel restrictions. So for the moment, social media keeps me somewhat in the ‘loop’ with my beloved Savannakhet, Lao PDR.
Solomon Islands – 1994, 2004, 2018-19
I spent longer in the Solomon Islands, and have longer standing relationships there. When I first went as a volunteer in 1994, there were few telephones or even electricity connections (none in rural areas where the majority of population still live), no mobile phones, few computers or access to technology. What there was was often donated through aid, and mostly ended up useless as there was no expertise in repairs. I lived on a remote island (Pigeon Island, Temotu) in 2004 and they had a small computer connected to the Sailmail communications system, and a two way radio that people would come from surrounding areas to use to send or receive urgent messages from the capital.
Brief sideline – I found myself as the new teacher at Pigeon Island with my son after responding to this advertisement in 2004… http://www.nelligennet.com/pigeon1e.htm
Since that time, I had received requests from extended family and friends to connect on Facebook. Most of my Facebook feed is now from the Solomon Islands and I am able to keep contact with friends, extended family, colleagues and professionals. I am able to keep up with news and discussion forums, government announcements, interest groups, and more. I still host and maintain two Facebook pages with former colleagues – Friends of Special Development Centre and Research, Reports and Statistics of Solomon Islands.
The use of Facebook in the Solomon Islands has caused some controversy, as access is relatively new for many people, it is available in most areas, and the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) recently tried to instigate a plan to ‘Ban Facebook’. This set off all kinds of backlash and anti-government sentiment being shared, alongside more traditionally focussed members of the community who in fact continue to blame Facebook for the declining respect for tradition, access to pornography (and hence rise in violent rape and crime) and the negative influence of Western behaviours.
It also happened in the midst of the Covid ‘SOE’ – State of Emergency, that was said to give the government unnecessary powers to stifle public knowledge or opinion.
After the initial announcement, the online forums and public posts went in all directions! More technologically astute people began to share ways to get around the ‘ban’ (which was only FB, not any other platform) and other social media options were shared, including questionable sites (a lot of these had increased popularity during Trump’s dying days). The level of technological mastery is generally low, particularly in the provinces, so for many it was Facebook or nothing. A large and vocal number of people preferred nothing.
The SIG later backed down on these plans, and things have largely gone back to the way they were, although certain media commentators and content decision makers do seem to be more cautious about what they will post.
This is the first of my posts relating to Social Media use in Developing countries. Please look out for my next post: Reflecting on social media ‘bullshit’ in solomon islands