Lebanese Youth hunger for change

The 12th of August of each year marks International Youth Day, celebrating young people around the globe and their ongoing achievements and innovations. Yet in Lebanon, the youth have mastered a different form of innovation: the ability to reinvent protest itself, adapting how they mobilize and make their voices heard in the face of an ever-changing reality.

المصدر: النهار

October 17 2019 uprising

Moussa Seif

Years have shown that taking to the streets has become obsolete, especially when the country was plunged into the lockdown isolation. This period introduced social media as a new communication tool that could disseminate ideas and stories in an engaging way. The drug-like ability that social media has to captivate and retain makes it extremely effective at informing a certain audience, express indignation or shedding a light on inequality.

Consequently, the youth hungry for change, have adapted to this innovative feature and have integrated it into their quest for a better Lebanon. Nowadays, the idea itself does not stand alone in the eyes of the audience, rather, the way the idea is portrayed matters almost as much. Therefore, having a social media presence is an art, and the youth have grown up mastering It, captivating a viewer’s attention with every hook, latching on with every edit, catering to the people’s ever dwindling attention spans.

The October 17 uprising is a prime example of the shift from the streets to the screens, Although it preceded the COVID-19 lockdown, the uprising, followed by the rapid expansion of digital activism during the pandemic, embodies the coexistence between the physical presence and digital activism. Digital activism has also allowed the diaspora to intervene and be part of the local conversation, giving a voice to those seeking shelter from restrictions on freedom of expression.

The youth have become their own media, every social media account is their own independent channel that doesn’t answer to anyone, that doesn’t need anyone’s permission to express an opinion, that can be launched from as little as a phone with access to the internet, lowering the participation barrier so that everyone can have a say.

The youth’s activism doesn’t just target political issues, it reaches economical inequalities through evidence based research, fact-checking and data-visualization, as well as social and sociological concerns, sparking public outrage at the slightest concern, shedding the light around mental health, road safety, animal welfare and much more.

The youth mobilizes their platform to promote projects to give back to the community, from initiating associations and organizations, to encouraging food initiatives, recycling projects and educational programs.

The Lebanese youth’s ability to adapt and seize every opportunity in pursuit of an equitable future has evolved over the years, from newspaper articles, meetings, student unions, to blogs and television channels, to social media applications, moving on to Artificial Intelligence tools which has already seen decent exploitation in the hands of young Lebanese for various purposes. This progression depicts just how a single reel, post, or idea can transcend the screen and potentially influence an entire society.