A new disturbing internet trend has the potential to put the internet and social media under scrutiny in Thailand at a time when even western tech companies are making moves to censor content. The new trend in Thailand could bring new challenges. Social networking sites and chatting apps serve as a powerful tool to break down barriers between people and bring them together.
While many blame social media for the rise in loneliness, this is an assumption. Loneliness in society began before the internet and many do not credit the power of social media as an antidote loneliness and the reduction in isolation which was on the rise in western countries before the internet began. There is no doubt that social media does have negative consequences such as a reduction in the need for direct face-to-face communication.
It can also encourage disengagement from reality. A huge debate has opened up right now in western countries over censorship of the internet. In Thailand, where internet use has been embraced enthusiastically by the population, it has also been tested in the political arena even before the current crisis in the West. The internet was at the centre of colour coded street protest movements that shook Thailand from to and nearly paralysed the country before the coup restored stability.
In Thailand, despite threats from the Thai authorities to control and censor the internet, the track record is quite good. Thai nationals enjoy a latitude and freedom online that arguably surpasses that of European citizens. The problem being faced by Thai authorities is a new once and represents a new use of the internet by young people in Thailand.
Thailand is a open and free society with a laissez faire economic model that sparks flair and business acumen among young and old. Thailand has distinguished itself over the last fifteen years in being one of the first countries to experience the polarisation that the internet can cause and also has been very quick at developing new internet trends. In June, police arrested the leader of a prostitution ring that allegedly had procured a year-old girl for an Indian tourist in Pattaya, a city known for its raunchy nightlife.
