Redes sociales y educación política

Abstract

The utility of information and communication technologies (ICT) becomes increasingly more essential in modern societies, and the new public space provided by ICT gives opportunities for people who previously did not have tools to be heard, to discuss, to meet and to start social movements, as happened in the case of «Occupy Wall Street» or «Arab Spring». Recently the similar phenomenon has been observed in Japan, a country with the existence of weak civil society, little interest of citizens to protest, and the lack of active social movements. Yet lately, new groups against the government appear taking advantage of the use of ICT, especially social networks. In this research we aim to study the impact, the application, and the advantages and disadvantages of social networks in these protest movements in order to increase better political education. The methodology to be used is case study (process-tracing method), analyzing data and information collected from various digital communication sources. After the study we conclude that the use of social networks contributes to the activation of Japanese civil society.