In the 21st century, civic engagement has forgotten the ballot boxes, town halls and the conventional meetings and moved to the online arena where millions of people are interconnected in real time. The cell phone is the new pamphlet, the trending hashtag the new slogan and Facebook Live the new jalsa. Social media is transforming the perspective of people, particularly youths, towards politics, protest and citizenship. In Pakistan, where there is a high number of youth and an increasing number of people using the internet, this change is radical. However, the question is, does social media enable democratic participation, or is there a danger of making politics a shallow clicktivism?
Since 2022 in Asia, Gen Z has mobilized digitally against corruption, malfunctioning of the government, and the suppression of rights. In Nepal (2025), demonstrations broke out over social media restrictions, compelling a policy change. Viral campaigns were employed by the Indonesian youth to oppose the rollback of civil liberties, and the Bangladeshi students brought the road safety and quota reform movements
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