{"id":8149,"date":"2025-10-23T00:37:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T18:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/?p=8149"},"modified":"2025-10-23T00:37:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T18:07:25","slug":"the-impact-of-the-social-media-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/2025\/10\/the-impact-of-the-social-media-era\/","title":{"rendered":"The Impact of the Social Media Era"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Myanmar Spring Chronicle \u2013 October 21 Perspective<\/strong>
(MoeMaKa, October 22, 2025)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Impact of the Social Media Era<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few days ago, a video went viral on social media showing an incident in Yangon\u2019s Hlaing Tharyar Township. In the video, a woman who had brought along a 4- or 5-year-old child was accused of stealing from a convenience shop. The shop owner then allegedly tied the woman \u2014 and the child \u2014 to an electric pole with a rope, scolding and threatening her.<\/p>\n

The video shows the woman tied up, the child crying beside her, and the shop owner threatening to pour hot water on her. It spread rapidly across Myanmar\u2019s social media, becoming one of the most viewed, commented-on, and shared posts of the day.<\/p>\n

The next day, reports said both the accused woman and the female shop owner were taken to the police station. Meanwhile, several well-known social media figures and volunteers began mobilizing to help the tied-up woman and her child, offering assistance and calling for justice.<\/p>\n

Public opinion split sharply.
Most people condemned the act of tying and threatening the woman and child<\/strong>, saying that\u2014even if the theft accusation were true\u2014such humiliation and abuse were unacceptable, especially toward a child. Others, however, expressed sympathy for the shop owner, saying she may have acted out of frustration after repeated shoplifting incidents.<\/p>\n

Some commentators brought up the broader social issue \u2014 noting that there are organized groups who use children as shields for theft or force them into begging. Others argued that while shopkeepers deserve empathy, no one has the right to use violence or public humiliation, particularly against a child.<\/p>\n

Many people connected the incident to the country\u2019s worsening poverty and unemployment. They argued that economic hardship since the coup \u2014 coupled with inflation and scarcity \u2014 has driven more people into desperate acts like theft or begging. From this perspective, even if the accused woman did steal, the deeper blame lies with a system that has impoverished her.<\/p>\n

Others took a broader political view: that the true culprit behind the widespread suffering is the military junta<\/strong>, whose coup devastated the economy and livelihoods. Some criticized the justice system for punishing only small-time offenders\u2014those who steal small amounts to survive\u2014while leaving untouched the powerful elites who exploit the nation\u2019s wealth and workers.<\/p>\n

Another viewpoint emphasized the breakdown of law and order<\/strong>. Because people no longer trust the courts or the police, many believe that \u201cmob justice\u201d \u2014 punishing a suspect on the spot \u2014 is justified. In this case, some even said the shop owner\u2019s actions were \u201cunderstandable,\u201d though extreme.<\/p>\n

At the same time, those who sympathized with the woman and her child were themselves attacked online, accused of \u201csiding with thieves.\u201d This polarization of opinion reflects the divisive nature of social media: a space filled with competing emotions, moral judgments, and outrage.<\/p>\n

Yet, across all these debates, no one defended the act of abusing or frightening the child<\/strong>. Many called for accountability against the networks that exploit children \u2014 whether for theft, street begging, or other criminal purposes.<\/p>\n

Looking deeper, two fundamental causes stand out: poverty<\/strong> and the absence of rule of law<\/strong>.
As long as poverty remains unaddressed, theft and begging will only spread.
And without real justice, such crimes will increasingly be carried out by organized groups, who may even coerce or exploit children.<\/p>\n

The incident also illustrates one of the darker consequences of the social media age<\/strong>. Every time a sensational case like this appears online, it quickly becomes a public spectacle. This phenomenon is similar to what English-speaking media critics call \u201cpoverty porn\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 content that displays the suffering of poor people to attract attention or self-promotion.<\/p>\n

In Myanmar, people jokingly call this trend \u201cthe poor man\u2019s drama.\u201d Whenever such incidents appear, waves of donations and aid offers flood in \u2014 cash, shelter, medicine, or education for the person featured. While some of this help is genuine, much of it turns into a performance: an opportunity for donors or influencers to advertise their own names and reputations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Instead of addressing the root causes<\/strong> \u2014 poverty, systemic injustice, lack of opportunity \u2014 the focus often narrows to helping one visible victim, posting about it, and basking in the social approval. It becomes a way of polishing one\u2019s ego or public image<\/strong>, rather than solving structural problems.<\/p>\n

In that sense, this behavior mirrors the marketing logic of capitalism<\/strong> itself \u2014 where even compassion becomes a brand. In the commercial world, there have been cases where companies pay condemned prisoners to appear in advertisements \u2014 a striking example of how profit and publicity override ethics.<\/p>\n

The same pattern applies here: prioritizing short-term visibility and self-satisfaction<\/strong> over meaningful, long-term solutions.<\/p>\n

The Hlaing Tharyar incident has thus become a reflection of three interlocking crises:<\/p>\n