July 6, 2021

On 14 July 1973, The Presidential Council for Minority Rights (PCMR) was established in Singapore to safeguard minority interests in the country. Since then, the PCMR has been responsible for ensuring that no legislative measures discriminate against any minority race or religion, or act simply in the interest of the majority. However, the public discourse on minority representation has come a long way since then and emerging minorities are turning to social media to advocate for their own rights.

We are all digital citizens. With the influx of information being shared online, digital platforms have become an extension of the physical social space we occupy – so much so, that our participation online has the power to directly affect social discourse. However, to what extent is the digital space able to inform and influence conservative societies like those in Southeast Asia? In ‘Digital Literacy Through Digital Citizenship: Online Civic Participation and Public Opinion Evaluation of Youth Minorities in Southeast Asia’ (Media and Communications, 2019), by Professor Audrey Yue, Associate Professor Elmie Nekmat, and former Postdoctoral Fellow Annisa R. Beta of the NUS Department of Communications and New Media, two case studies are conducted to address the question. The findings reveal that digital citizenship serves as a form of civic participation which improves society while integrating marginalised social groups in a digital space, even in the more traditional communities of Singapore and Indonesia.

The first case study on Singaporean youths gauged their critical literacy and social awareness through their ability to identify the public’s opinion of the LGBT community by interpreting online sources. Focus group discussions conducted with individuals in support of and against LGBTs show that the participants generally interact with sources shared by their contacts and gravitate towards posts that have more ‘endorsement heuristics’ such as likes, shares, and comments. While interacting with foreign media gives them global perspective on the topic, they are more drawn to sources that align with their ideology.

The second case study on young Muslim women’s groups in Indonesia unfolds the approach their social media groups adopt to build a supportive community for those upholding the same values. For example, one group, JMP, uses its social media presence to educate young Muslim women on building businesses while observing religious duties. These groups also adopt ‘hashtag activism’ to express their civic concerns on online platforms, such as using thought-provoking hashtags like “#muslimvotemuslim” to encourage users to make informed political choices.

Through these case studies, it is evident that digital citizenship plays a crucial role in Southeast Asian communities by enabling self-expression, allowing users to perceive their environment, and even confront conventional beliefs. However, they also draw emphasis on the necessity of apt digital literacy to decipher the abundance of information online and form views while understanding public opinion.

Read the article here.