Experts warn Internet may affect politics in Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - Messages shared by Turkey’s young and dynamic population on the world’s most popular social networking platforms might lead to political results similar to those seen during the ongoing Arab Spring, a top Turkish marketing professional said.

“Spring for some, and winter for some others: The Arab Spring started on Twitter and Facebook,” Günseli Özen Ocakoglu, editor-in-chief of Marketing Turkey and head of the Marketing and Management Institute, said on the sidelines of the Interactive Marketing Summit held in Istanbul, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“Unfortunately, Turkish political leaders often underestimate the power of youth living in Turkey as they are all united in online platforms and are ready to unite and protest for anything,” said Ocaklıoğlu.

According to her, Turkish youth experienced their “first victory” against a new web filtering plan that the Information and Communication Technologies Authority, or BTK, planned to implement in August.

“Some started the protests first on Facebook and Twitter; later, many joined the protest against the BTK’s decision,” she said, adding that the BTK had postponed the filter’s implementation until November so that improvements could be made.

“They eventually got the message,” she said.

“Turkey’s politicians should understand that youngsters are [aware] and that they will continue to become involved in serious issues,” said Ocakoğlu, adding that the real talent was to “read the messages carefully.”

In Turkey, there are 34 million Internet users and 30 million Facebook users – nearly 14 million of whom are between the ages of 15 and 24. Some 16 million people are between 15 and 25, while nine out of every 10 youth use social networking platforms, according to recent research from the Turkish Statistical Institute, or TurkStat.