Social Networking TOO powerful?

A week ago in the New York Times there was in article about an explosion of social networking in Indonesia. In a newly democratic Indonesia, the government is trying to regulate content on the Internet and the media is fighting back. Social networking is becoming a vital tool to promote a more democratic country which is often corrupt. The government recently proposed a bill that would require Internet service providers to filter online content, but was no longer an issue after online protests and in the mainstream media.(Yet, currently the government is trying to propose a new and more harsh law) In a year the number of Indonesian Facebook users went from fewer than a million to more than 21 million!! That is the world's third largest number of Facebook users...especially thanks to relatively cheap cell phones that offer internet access spreading from cities to villages throughout Southeast Asia. These online movements had deeply unsettled politicians, bureaucrats, and even hospital administrators challenging their authority. People in power are afraid of online media and social networking they are paranoid and very traditional unlike the new online content. Indonesia is growing and trying to regulate more freedom.

An example of how strong of an impact social networking has on this country is recently when the government put up a statue of a 10-year old Barack Obama in a local park, instead of protesting in the capitals most famous traffic circle, more than 56,000 online protesters on Facebook got the city officials to give in, taking down the statue, and allowing the park to be reserved to honor and Indonesian.



I'm not sure if other countries should intervene and help keep the media and online usage alive and thriving in Indonesia, but it seems to be creating this bond between most Indonesians and redefining their values.