Social Media in Haiti

Everyone is aware of social media's sweeping impact on the world. In the Middle East, we've seen a bunch of revolts take place, mostly because people used social media to voice their opinions. Many say social media aided the people of the Middle East in organizing protest to overthrow Egypt's Mubarak. Social media can be good or bad, but in Haiti's case, it is mostly good.

According to Internet World Stats, Haiti's internet is used by one million of its people (ten percent), and of those, 85,480 are Facebook users. After the devastating earthquake in January of 2010, Facebook became more popular amongst Haitians. Many Haitians, who still had internet access, uploaded many pictures to the site allowing people from different areas of the world to see what was happening. Many Facebook pages and groups were created to to encourage people to donate money to help Haiti.

Another popular social media website is Twitter. Twitter is also used a lot in Haiti amongst those who have internet access. Haiti's new president, Michel Martelly, used Twitter to announce his victory after Haitians waited almost a week after the elections to find out the results. According to CNET News, Haiti's earthquake helped Twitter grow. Twitter was used by many Haitians to deliver firsthand accounts of what happened during the devastating quake. Pictures and videos were often uploaded and many discussions were sparked through Twitter.

Social media is a fun way to communicate but can also be used for more serious matters. With Haiti's earthquake, social media was used as a means of communicating information; making others in other nations aware of the devastation. Social media also played a huge role in raising funds and obtaining other supplies to aid Haiti. Social media will most likely be used for things other than socializing in the future.