The Influences Of Social Media For The Development Of Political Education In Thailand (Dissertation Sample)

The influences of social media for the development of political education in Thailand
by
[your official name]
PHD, [university], 2015
Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
University
[last month of quarter you plan to graduate] 2015
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Abstract
Technology has changed rapidly and with the change in technology the trends of people around the world have also changed. People all over the world have started to use the social media greatly. Thailand is no exception. With the ever-increasing influence of social media Bangkok has become one of the highest using Facebook population. Political education was however, first very much limited in the country but with the advent of technology and excessive usage of the Internet and social media a vast and diverse change has been noticed in the political education of Thailand. The population of Thailand now has more understanding of the meaning of democracy. However, democracy is viewed differently in the rural and the urban areas. The social media has in many ways affected the knowledge of the people regarding the politics in Thailand. The citizens of Thailand now have that information which they did not have before about the politics and political personalities in Thailand. However, the effect is not only positive but has negative effects too thus increasing the cold war between the red shorts and the yellow shirts in Thailand. A in depth analysis of the situation is done as to see how the social media effects the youth and politics and citizens of Thailand.
Table of ContentsList of Tables7List of Figures8Chapter 1: Introduction9Research Background9Thailand’s Social Media Battleground9Leading Social Networks in Thailand11Statement of the problem14 The Current state of Social Media In Thailand14Research Objectives17 Youth, Politics and Social Media in Southeast Asia: Trends, Events and Implications17Methodology22 Internet and Social Media Usage in Thailand 22 The Role of Online Social Media in Political Communication of Young Activists in Thailand 29Scope and Limitations42 Trends in the Use of Social Media by Youth in Thailand 42 Global Thinking47 European Thinking in Postmodernism 50 Hypothesis53 The
Political Power of Social Media 53 The Politics of Education in Thailand 56 Perceptions of Democracy among Thai Adolescents 60 Structure of Research Study70Chapter 2: Theory And Practice72Reshaping Education in Response to the High Demand of English Language 72 The Influences of Social Media for the Development to Political Education in Thailand76 Thailand Case Study in Education, Conflict and Social Cohesion 78Trend of Facebook Usage Behavior and Impacts on the Attitudes Amongst Friends in Social Network Circle of Thai Youths: Case Study on College Students90Chapter 3: Conclusion Statement 98 Political Science Education transition from textbooks to practical implementations98 The Overall Feeling of Conflict and Discourse within Systems of Government, and the Analysis of Political Activity and Political Behavior in Thailand99The evolution of thinking from Modernism to Postmodernism in Political Science Education forced on by Social Media106Chapter 4: Recommendations 109 Considerations of Social Media Usage Policy109 The Perception of Political Value in Thai Society 112 Further study of Internet Use and Social Networking by Young Thais115References 118Appendix 122
List of Tables
Table 1. Penetration of Internet in South Asian Countries……....…………17
Table 2. Frequency of Facebook Login………………………....……….…43
Table 3. Time spent by a User on Facebook…………………...…………..44
Table 4. Number of Facebook Visits…………………………...…………..45
Table 5. Frequency in 2011 and 2013…………………………...………….92
Table 6. Average time per session………………………………...………...92
Table 7. Interest in Friends’ Movement…………………………...………...93
Table 8. Topics of Interest………………………………………...…………94
Table 9. Interests in Friends’ Movement…………………………………….95
Table 1. Overall Interests…………………………………………………….96
Table 1. Discourse in Political Parties in Thailand…………………………104
Table 1. Topics of Discussion in 2010……………………………………...106
Table 13. Percent of Respondents Accepting alternatives to democracy in 2006…………………………………………………………………………115
List of Figures
Figure 1. Population In Thailand using social media………………………13
Figure 2. Demographics of Thailand for Facebook and YouTube…………23
Figure 3. Popular social networks in Thailand……………………………..24
Figure 4. Digital statistical Indicators in Thailand………………………....26
Figure 5. Thai users time spent on Media……………………………..……27
Figure 6. Statistics of Mobile Phones in Thailand………………………….28
Figure 7. Ability to gain the access of the media…………………………..39
Figure 8. Social media response in U.S…………………………………….48
Figure 9. How the adolescents of Thailand perceive the democracy………69
Figure 10. Political culture development……………………………….…100
Figure 11. Aspects influencing political culture and participation…….….101
Figure 12. Factor effecting political attitude and behavior………………..103
Chapter 1: Introduction
Research Background
Thailand’s Social Media Battleground
In recent years plenty of politicians in Thailand have started to use social media to promote politics. However, the urban population of Thailand has been using the social media to information about politics where as the rural population do not have much of an access to the social media. A survey was carried out in the year 2012 which showed that only one third of the Thailand's population had an access to the Internet. It was not until the 1990's that the media became free in Thailand. Before that the media came under the military dictatorship. However, even after the military rule some of the Major radio and television media came under the military rule. The journalists in Thailand however, tend to stay away from the sensitive topics. Freedom house is non-government organization that is U.S based. Freedom house rated the Thai media as being "not free" (Paireepairit, 2012). Before the social media, the people could not discuss political matters and give their views on political issues freely. It is due to the social media that now people can openly discuss different issues, even those issues which the media does not discuss openly on television, newspapers etc (Park, 2014). Through the social media people now have a more easy access to information, books, articles which were banned in the country. This all means that the Thai society is moving towards a more democratic society.
In the previous years, to avoid unrest and chaos in the country, the military took complete of the media and controlled what had to be screened on media. The opposition was completely suppressed. However, they could not control the Internet and social media where everyone could voice their opinions and address and discuss different matters (Paireepairit, 2012). The social media during this time became an instant connection with the public as people linked their blogs with their facebook and twitter accounts. In this way they would upload latest pictures and news of the political issues. As a result the military government had to find out away to control the access of Thai people to the Internet. Thus, thousands of websites had been blocked by the government excluding the social media websites (Park, 2014). In 2014 Facebook went down for a couple of hours, which created a negative air. However, it was up running after a few hours but proved that putting the social media down would not have any positive outcomes (Millward, 2013). Th...