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International Information & Library Review

ISSN: 1057-2317 (Print) 1095-9297 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ulbr20

Use of social networks and information seeking


behavior of students during political crises in
Pakistan: A case study
Maqsood Ahmad Shaheen
To cite this article: Maqsood Ahmad Shaheen (2008) Use of social networks and information
seeking behavior of students during political crises in Pakistan: A case study, International
Information & Library Review, 40:3, 142-147, DOI: 10.1080/10572317.2008.10762774
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2008.10762774

Published online: 02 Dec 2013.

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The International Information & Library Review (2008) 40, 142e147

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journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/iilr

Use of social networks and information seeking


behavior of students during political crises in
Pakistan: A case study
Maqsood Ahmad Shaheen*
President-Elect, Asian Chapter of Special Libraries Association, based in Islamabad, Pakistan

KEYWORDS
Online social networks;
Freedom of expression;
Technology and online
collaboration;
Censorship;
Pakistan

Summary
This study was undertaken to investigate the use of social networks and political activism on
the Internet by the students of three universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi during the political crises for the last one year and the emergency imposed by the Government of Pakistan on
November 3, 2007. The findings conclude that Internet use by the students promoted democracy, freedom of expression and greater awareness about their rights during the political crises
in Pakistan.
Methodology: The survey method of research was used to collect data. The sample consisted
of 420 students studying at the Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad, Fatima Jinnah Women
University, Rawalpindi, and International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan. The questionnaire was sent to the students by email. The survey was administered through SurveyMonkey
website. The response rate was 72.23%.
Originality/value: The paper is a useful source of information about how the social networking
tools have been influencing and changing communication channels in Pakistan.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Defining online social networks


Much has been written to define the social networking
Internet sites, but, PC Magazine Encyclopedia defines the
social networking very close to the findings of our study
about the online user behavior in Pakistan.
A Website that provides a virtual community for people
interested in a particular subject or just to hang out
together. Members create their own online profile with
biographical data, pictures, likes, dislikes and any other

* Tel.: 92 334 4222315; fax: 92 51 2273370.


E-mail address: ShaheenMA@gmail.com

information they choose to post. They communicate with


each other by voice, chat, instant message, videoconference and blogs, and the service typically provides a way
for members to contact friends of other members.
(PC Magazine Online Encyclopedia, 2008, http://www.
pcmag.com/encyclopedia/).
Boyd and Ellison (2007) define social networking sites as
web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct
a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2)
articulate a list of other users with whom they share
a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of
connections and those made by others within the system.
The nature and nomenclature of these connections may
vary from site to site.

1057-2317/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.iilr.2008.07.006

Use of social networks and information seeking behavior of students during political crises in Pakistan

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Introduction
The spread of digital connectivity around the world, along
with ever cheaper and more powerful fixed and mobile
communications appliances, are eliminating the barriers of
distance and time zones around the world (Collier, 2006).
The information and communication technologies are
toolkits for enriching and spreading democracy and their
greatest impact can be seen in the political crises in Pakistan. The World Wide Web through social networks became
a powerful tool for mass mobilization against President
Musharrafs regime.
A recent Gallup report suggests that today, 15% of urban
Pakistanis now have Internet access, a small percentage
compared with some nations, but a good chunk of Pakistans politically active middle class. There are also estimated to be more than 60 million mobile phone users.
Together, the technologies have connected people in ways
unimaginable a few years ago and have fed a growing
hunger for real-time news (Mufti, 2007).
The crises started when President General Pervez
Musharraf imposed a countrywide state of emergency
(quasi martial law) in Pakistan on November 3, 2007, and
removed all the judges who did not take an oath under his
newly framed constitution. Millions of Pakistanis were
faced with a ban on about a dozen domestic and international TV news stations and curbs on newspapers due to the
emergency imposed by the Pakistani government. Those
who had access to the Internet were finding and spreading
the breaking news in live video feeds and through the
special blogs set up online. Only the state run Pakistan
Television Corporation has been broadcasting one-sided
view of the government in this situation. These were the
only forums of public communication that the media ban
had missed.
By shutting private media down, they thought they
could control the political message, says Adnan Rehmat,
who heads Internews Pakistan, a Washington-based media
watchdog group. But its only encouraged people to come
up with new and creative ways of constructing a message
and passing it around. (Mufti, 2007)
During this state of emergency when every news sources
was banned, the students organized a political movement
using the Internets social networking tools, such as emails,
online petitions, blogs, the Facebook and text messages
from cell phones.

State of online political activism


In searching for social networking websites on Pakistan, one
will come across many different networks. Most of those
sites have had a particular focus on Pakistani politics and
the state of emergency. A few sites worth mentioning are:
1. We Oppose Emergency in Pakistan http://
emergencypk.blogspot.com/
2. http://pakistan.wikia.com/wiki/Emergency_2007
3. http://www.gopetition.com/online/15064.html
4. http://united4justice.wordpress.com (maintained by
FAST-NU students and alumni)

143

5. Academics for Freedom http://academicsforfreedom.


blogspot.com/ A group of independent Pakistani
academics launched a new blog that has been consistently updating Pakistani and international audiences
through analytical insights into the immediate and
longer term adverse impacts and ramifications of the
imposition of Emergency in Pakistan on November 3,
2007.
6. http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/specialcoverage/
pakistan-emergency-2007/syndicates several sources of
info through their RSS feeds. Twitter, del.ico.us, GVs
own posts, and others are included.
Ahsan Pirzada and some of his high-school friends spread
the word via Facebook, email and cell phone text
messages: Lets meet at McDonalds after school on
Monday. About 100 students pulled out banners, taped their
mouths shut in symbolic protest and marched silently
toward the office of President Pervez Musharraf. Before
they had gone 1000 yards, truckloads of police, including an
anti-terrorist squad, swooped in and dispersed the threat,
hauling about 50 teens to a police station. (Rupert, 2007)
The government observed the protest calls so closely
that even the announcements through Facebook and
weblogs caught the attention of police and the secret
agencies of Pakistan as in the above example.
Blogs became popular sources of news after the tragic
events of 9/11, and have continued to gain prominence
during the war in Iraq and the US elections in 2004 and the
coming US elections in 2008. In Pakistan, they are having
a different impact in the form of collaboration on political
thought of people of Pakistan.
This phenomenon has been called citizen journalism e
the creation of a news stream by a large number of everyday
Internet users working independently. (OGrady, 2005)
The popular Facebook groups and weblogs during this
emergency were:
1. I hate Pervez Musharraf
2. Musharraf is a Bloody Rascal
3. GO MUSHARRAF GO!!!
Blogs and Facebook are starting to change the way
young Pakistanis think because people who arent usually
interested in politics are being exposed to it, said Hamza
Sadiq Khan, creator of the Facebook group Go Musharraf
Go!!!. (Agence France Presse, 2007)
The most popular Facebook protest group for Pakistan
was We Oppose Emergency in Pakistan, which has 14,085
members as of March 23, 2008.
The international Pakistani community published a petition that had links to protest blogs, pictures of rallies and
a mass petition with nearly 16,000 signatures calling for the
restoration of the constitution (http://www.gopetition.
com/online/15064.html).
Internet access and mobile phones significantly changed
the information environment in the country. At present,
there are 80,301,327 mobile phone users in Pakistan
(Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, 2008) http://
www.pta.gov.pk/index.php?optionZcom_content&taskZ
view&idZ650&ItemidZ603.

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144
The majority of these subscribers have been using the
text messaging service to communicate news, sentiments
for the judiciary, protest announcement, etc. This is how
students have really been networking and expressing
themselves. They sent out messages of solidarity, relaying
information about protest sites. In university computer
laboratories and at Internet cafes, they have been blogging
about emergency rule, posting online videos of protests and
publishing daily newsletters.
In this context, every person becomes a source of
content, not just a consumer. With handheld mobile digital
data, sound, image, video, location recorders and direct
real-time connection to everyone else in the flat world, the
preponderance of content will not be that which is
produced by a few legacy programmers and studios, but
everything that is produced by everyone (Collier, 2006).

Censorship on social networking sites


The Columbia Encyclopedia defines censorship as, Official
prohibition or restriction of any type of expression believed
to threaten the political, social, or moral order. It may be
imposed by governmental authority, local or national, by
a religious body, or occasionally by a powerful private
group. It may be applied to the mails, speech, the press,
the theater, dance, art, literature, photography, the
cinema, radio, television, or computer networks. Censorship may be either preventive or punitive, according to
whether it is exercised before or after the expression has
been made public. (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2007)
This is the true reflection state of censorship on people,
media and online communities.
On February 22, 2008, the YouTube service was suddenly
suspended worldwide. A vast network of online communities was disrupted to communicate. The immediate reason
of suspension was unknown at that time.
Several people speculated about the reasons. For
example, one comment was: Sabotage. Thats the right
word for what Pakistan Telecom did to YouTube on the last
Sunday in February. It was intended to be censorship e
blocking Pakistanis from seeing a video that their government
found offensive. But it resulted in all of YouTube vanishing
from the Internet for up to two hours. (Hayes, 2008)
Since the start of its service in February 2005, YouTube
has many times been restricted by different countries, e.g.
China, Iran, many Middle East countries, Pakistan, Turkey,
Burma and Brazil.
Afraid of the agitation and awareness resulting in the
mass mobilization of youth against the government policies
during the state of emergency, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on February 22, 2008, blocked the
YouTube service in the country. PTA ordered Pakistans 70
Internet service providers (ISPs) to block YouTube. This
caused the technical faults on the YouTube server, which
resulted in the breakdown of the service for more than two
hours worldwide.
Micronet, one of the major Internet service providers in
Pakistan, conveyed in an email to subscribers that the
Pakistan Telecommunications Authority had directed all
ISPs to block access to YouTube for not removing blasphemous web content and movies. The Pakistani

M.A. Shaheen
government argues that they blocked YouTube due to the
presence of offensive, anti-Islamic Dutch documentary that
they feared could result in mass protests and violence in
the country. Since 2006, on PTAs instruction, more than 12
websites have been blocked by these ISPs.

Survey
Analysis and key findings
This behavior among the youth of Pakistani universities and
the reaction of the Government of Pakistan led the author
to conduct a survey on the collaborative trend of students
through the weblogs and use of other social networking
tools about the Pakistani politics in the prevailing environment of censorship on national cable television channels. It has been observed that young people have been
quick to adopt these social networking technologies;
therefore, the following survey was conducted to examine
the information seeking and sharing behavior of the
students of Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU), International
Islamic University (IIU) and Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) in twin cities.
In this case study, Random sampling method was used to
collect the data. The International Islamic University (IIU)
has an enrollment of 12,000 students, Quaid-i-Azam
University has an enrollment of 2400 students and Fatima
Jinnah Womens University has an enrollment of 3000
students. Altogether, the survey was randomly sent to 420
students of these universities regardless of their study
level. Out of these 420, only 295 responded the survey. Out
of these only 115 from IIU, 105 from QAU and 75 of FJWU
students and faculty responded the questions. The majority
of respondents were between 25 and 30 which was 53% of
the total respondents while 47% were below 25 years of
age. As compared to the total population of each university, 0.96% students from the International Islamic University, 2.5% from the Fatima Jinnah Womens University and
4.38% students from Quaid-i-Azam University responded.
Two out of three universities have a co-education system;
Fatima Jinnah Womens University has a female population.
Therefore, the response rate from the female students was
seen less as compared to male students.
All the respondents said they use the Internet for
browsing; 70% used for interacting activities; and, 49% say
they create activities on the social networks. The respondents were asked to select from multiple choices. Therefore, the majority of the respondents showed interest
toward the use of social networking sites.
When asked about the use of mobile phone features, all
the respondents used it for sending and receiving short
messages; only 25% used it for chatting, 51% of the total
respondents said they use Internet for emailing. The results
show that the use of mobile phone has also been helpful for
exchanging views and building consensus against the state
of emergency in the country.
The responses to the use of specific social networking
sites indicate the popularity of Facebook.com among these
youth. Out of total 295 respondents, 75 used MySpace, 25
Classmates.com, 250 used Facebook, 105 MSN Spaces, and
200 were using Orkut.

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Use of social networks and information seeking behavior of students during political crises in Pakistan
In responses to questions about the reason for use of
specific social media website, all the respondents said
they use it because the website is fun and they meet
new people on these online communities. The second
highest number of the respondents said these websites
are useful and third majority said they use them to keep
themselves abreast of the latest news and commentaries. None of the respondents used these websites for
business purpose. Therefore, the trend among the youth
seems toward the entertainment and networking aspects
of the social media.
To check their heavy use of these websites, 71% said
they daily log on to these websites. This behavior indicates the increasing use of Internet among the youth.
Out of 295 respondents, 85% said that they trust the
information on their preferred website. This higher value
indicates the trustworthiness of the youth of the information available at these websites. Ninety three percent
agree that during the state of emergency in Pakistan,
these websites created awareness among the Pakistani
youth about their political rights. The ratio of the
responses again indicates the faith and trustworthiness of
the students in these social networks. Out of 295
respondents, only 69% said that Pakistan Governments
ban on YouTube is a violation of freedom of speech. The
responses to this question show careful behavior of the
students to respond to this question. Due to the sensitivity and the peoples emotional association with Islam,
the question was kept simple and was not specifically
linked to the Dutch cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad
(PBUPH). The majority of the respondents seem to be
concerned with the freedom of speech in the broader
sense.

Conclusion
Opinions about the effect of technology on government
control vary. One article argues: Rather than making
the state stronger, technology actually weakens dictatorial control, because it makes it impossible for the
state to control what their citizens see and hear about
what is going on around them. And without control
over the flow of information, the very legitimacy of
the state itself comes into question. (Technology vs.
Dictators, 2007)
Will the open web promote democracy in Pakistan?
The results of this small case study of students at
three universities indicate promise that the use of
social networking websites may be an alternate
medium to promote the freedom of speech and greater
awareness about their political rights among the
students of these universities. The use of the social
networks indicates a trend toward greater use of the
Internet and alternate sources for exchanging information during such restrictions on the citizens. The study
also shows the increased use of alternate media by the
students to mobilize people. The study indicates that
the government of Pakistan could not stop the use of
these social networks and the ban on the YouTube
seems to be disliked by the studies respondents in
terms of freedom of speech.

145

Appendix 1
Formal Email
Subject: Survey on Use of Social Networks and Information
Seeking Behavior of Students during the State of Emergency
in PakistanDear Sir/Madam:
I am a library and information science professional based
in Islamabad. I am performing a study on the Use of Social
Networks and Information Seeking Behavior of Students
during the State of Emergency in Pakistan. As a library and
information science professional, this research is entirely
my own initiative and my office in any means has no link
with this research project. I appreciate your participation
in this survey, as it will assist in understanding youth trends
in online political activism. The link to survey questionnaire
is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm Z fKCG3vP7
7v7rE5OA1ezfAA_3d_3d.
There are no foreseeable risks associated with this
research. This is an anonymous questionnaire, and so your
responses will not be identifiable in any way. Data and
information acquired from this survey will be confidential
and will be used only and only for research purpose.
Participation is completely voluntary and involves no
financial benefits.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please do
not hesitate to write me on the email below.
Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Maqsood Ahmad Shaheen
President-Elect
Asian Chapter of Special Libraries Association
Islamabad
Pakistan
Phone: 0334-4222315
Email: ShaheenMA@gmail.com

Appendix 2

Survey questionnaire (sample: 420) (respondents: 295)


Q 1 Name
of your institution
and Corresponding Respondents.
International Islamic
University, Islamabad
Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad
Fatima Jinnah
Women University, Rawalpindi
Total Number
of Respondents

Responses
115
105
75
295

Q 2 What
is your age?
between 20e25 years
between 25e30 years

Responses
139
156

146

M.A. Shaheen

Q 3 What
kinds of online
activities have you been
doing or participating
in during the last 12 months?
Please select all that apply?

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Browsing
Interacting activities
Creating activities

I use it as part of my business.


To keep
abreast of the latest
news and commentaries.

Responses
295
206
147

Q 4 Which
of the following
functions/features do you use on your
cell phone? Please
select all that apply?
Text messaging
Chatting
Internet
Emailing

Responses
295
75
150
150

Q 5 Below
is a list
of social networking
Websites. Please
select all the Websites
you have used
in the past 12 months?
MySpace
Classmates.com
Facebook
MSN Spaces
Orkut

Q 7 How frequently
do you log in to your
preferred social networking site?
Daily
Twice a week
Once a month

Responses
210
50
35

Q 8 How strongly
do you agree
or disagree that
you trust your
preferred networking Website?
Agree
Disagree

Responses
250
45

Q 9 Do you think
that social networking
sites helped Pakistani
public to create
awareness about their
political rights?
Responses
75
25
250
105
200

Q 6 Which
of the following
describe why you use your
preferred social media
Website(s)? Please
select all that apply?
The Website is fun
The Website
is useful
My friends
use the same site
To document
my personal experiences
and share with others.
To express
myself creatively with
self-published material.
To network or to meet
new people.
I get regular updates on new
features and functionality.
To be a part of a group or
community.

0
120

Agree
Disagree

Responses
275
15

Q10 Do you think


Pakistan Governments ban on YouTube
was a violation
of freedom of speech?
Agree
Disagree

Responses
205
90

References
Responses
295
200
65
115

50

250
130
250

Censorship. (2007). The Columbia encyclopedia (6th ed.). New


York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved 15.03.08. from
Questia database. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?aZo&dZ
112851026.
Collier, S. (2006). Do you believe in magic? An otherworld of
incredible new technology. Management Quarterly, 47(2).
Boyd, Danah, & Ellison, Nicole (2008). Social network sites: definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated
Communication, 13(11). Retrieved 15.03.08 from: http://jcmc.
indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html.
Facebookers, bloggers fight Pakistan emergency. (2007). [Electronic Version]. Agence France Presse. Retrieved 18.11.07,
from Factiva database. http://www.factiva.com.
Hayes, F. (2008). Internet sabotage. [electronic version]. Computer.
WorldRetrieved 3.03.08, from Factiva database. http://www.
factiva.com.
Mufti, S. (2007). With news banned from TV, Pakistanis find it on
the Web. [electronic version]. Christian Science Monitor.
Retrieved 7.11.07.

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OGrady, P. (2005). A new medium comes of age: Internet


bloggers have already made their mark in Iraq. Now, as
disaster hits Asia, they play a big role in relief efforts, as well
as being first with news. New Statesman, 134(4721).
Retrieved on 10.03.08 from: http://www.newstatesman.com/
200501100006.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. (2008). Mobile cellular
services. Retrieved on 17.03.08 from: http://www.pta.gov.pk/

147

index.php?optionZcom_content&taskZview&idZ650&Itemid
Z603.
Rupert, J. (2007). Actions louder than words in Pakistan rally.
Newsday. Retrieved 20.02.08 from Factiva database. http://
www.factiva.com.
Technology vs. the dictators. (2007). Liberty papers. Retrieved
on 5.03.08 from: http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/11/
06/technology-vs-the-dictators/.

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