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21 Apr 2018
20 Apr. 2018 <br />
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Amman- Participants in a symposium at the Jordan Media Institute (JMI) have agreed that it is necessary to rethink how public opinion is shaped, given the prevalence of social media and its influence on public positions and government decision-making. The participants stated this in a scientific symposium at the JMI titled "Modern Public Opinion: Transformations and Influencers." The symposium discussed ways of shaping public opinion, influencers, and how technology, digital media, and social media networks are changing what the democratic world usually refers to as public opinion.<br />
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Dr. Antoine Masara, Lebanese thinker and member of the Constitutional Council, said that "the prevalence of opinions in today's world is dangerous. Opinions are scattered; there is no ideology behind them. Many people repeat opinions without having a personal conviction about them."<br />
Masara said there is an urgent need for rehabilitating public media at an age when countries have become weaker and ideas scattered. There is no agreement on a specific opinion. He noted that knowledge is one of the key elements of forming public opinion, but the huge amount of information, especially on social media, has led to a decline in knowledge that one acquires from books and documents. This has made it more difficult to have public opinion that enjoys awareness.<br />
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Masara added that citizens who have knowledge would exercise true citizenship, but those who do not would follow other opinions. This will create numerous trends that do not meet needs and will pose a threat to public discussion, which is a main tool in shaping public opinion.<br />
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Dr. Faris Breizat, an expert in public opinion studies, highlighted a number of studies and opinion polls that indicate how public opinion of a number of issues changes and how it is linked to the public mood toward local or regional developments. The chairman of the board of directors of Nama for Strategic Consultations said that some studies suggest that people who have an account on one of the social media sites had a more negative attitude toward local issues than those who did not have an account.<br />
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Breizat pointed out that it is difficult to change deep-rooted values in society. Media outlets embody reality more than they seek to change it. Opinion polls showed a low level of confidence in democratic institutions in Jordan, such as the press and parliament. This is a very serious indicator.<br />
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Dr. Maen Qatamin, an expert in training, leadership, and strategic planning, spoke about the big gap between citizens and officials, citing the polls that Dr. Breizat mentioned. "The low level of confidence in governments means the total failure of these public institutions," he said.<br />
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Qatamin, who is a social influencer, said that religion and tribalism are among the deep-rooted values in Jordanian, and Arab, society in general. Citizens respond quickly when there is talk about them. However, there are other important values, such as justice, democracy, and transparency, "but society is slow to react when they are affected despite the fact that they are very important for building advanced societies".<br />
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Qatamin added that public opinion is one important pillar of democracy, but governments seek to develop official public opinion, which is largely misleading. He noted that digital media made people accustomed to phenomena that we were not used to before. This has generated "globalized apathy" and low reactions to events that had previously largely provoked public sentiments.<br />
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At the end of the symposium, there was a discussion, which focused on the absence of the government story in important developments, thus creating rumors that play a big role in shaping public opinion, which is hard to change afterwards. The participants said that studies and polls must feed into public decisions and opinion. They also stressed the need for scientific, logical, and digital dialogue and making a distinction between facts and opinions. Different opinions should be viewed as a tool for construction, and not destruction.