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activists and completely baffled the old dictators and their stooges, who simply didn’t know how
to counter this new democratic space. I have spoken to people from Saudi Arabia who told me
that every time the (unelected) government tries to suppress online communication, the number of
people making their voices heard online increases. But the Arab Spring happened, not because
people had the Internet and mobile phones, but because they were driven to exasperation by
regimes that treated them with contempt.
Rachid Filali: Is the widespread use of social networks (in
Europe and America in particular) caused by the search for
a replacement of the „extreme individualism“ suffered by
Westerners in general?
Stephen Coleman: The grandparents of the Facebook
generation had fewer social contacts than their grandchildren,
but knew them better. Online social networks create what
Granovetter called ‘weak ties’. I wouldn’t like to categorise
networked sociality as a retreat to lonely individualism or a
turn towards more collective engagement. It is both – and
the empirical question is to identify where and when and how
one kind of relationship is more dominant than the other. The
crisis of Western individualism is deeper and more profound
than can be explained by the use of technological tools. (Most
people in the West feel that they have little influence on the
world around them, leaving them as spectators upon political
dramas in which they’re told, according to democratic ideals,
that they should be centre stage).
Rachid Filali: Do you expect the demise of „the printed press,“
after the huge success of „electronic media“?
Stephen Coleman: No – but some print dinosaurs will fall by
the wayside, while others will adapt. I like the idea of a media
ecology in which different media serve specific socio-cultural
needs. We’re doing some empirical work on this currently in the
city of Leeds, where my University is based.
Rachid Filali: We can notice a strange phenomenon nowadays.
Is it true that while the „printed press“ in the Arab world is
successful, the opposite happens in Europe and in America, as
it is threatened with bankruptcy?
www.eXperimenta.de
Rachid Filali was born in Algeria in 1964, working
in journalism since 1985. Filali is a researcher in
linguistics, and is fluent in a number of languages:
English, Arabic, French, German, Chinese, and
Japanese. Rachid expresses his views of the universe
and life in his first collection of poetry published in
2007, and the second book will be published this
year 2013. He has published two books about
world literature, as he also is interested in writing
for children. He currently collaborates with a number
of Arab and foreign magazines )Knot Magazine,
Oudnad Magazine, Al Faisal Magazine, eXperimenta
Magazin… and works as “corrector and reviser” for
the newspaper ELKHABA-ELRIADI الخبر الرياضي
Stephen Coleman: Yes, indeed this is the case. Much of the commentary and scholarship
about the media is very Euro-American-centered. This is an important reminder.
Rachid Filali: There are a lot of fake news published by the press in many countries of the world,
especially in the press that is financially and politically supported by companies and influential
personalities. How to protect the truth of these evil forces?
Stephen Coleman: See this article: http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/1946698/68514667/name/
Television%20%26amp%3B%20New%20Media%20-%20Murdoch%20-%20Coleman.doc.pdf
Rachid Filali: How do you analyse what is currently happening in the Arab world including
changes in political, social and cultural areas?
Stephen Coleman: I’m a democrat who believes that the work of building democracy is never
completely finished. The Arab Spring was an inspirational phenomenon. It is too easy to forget
28 Juni 2013