Mobile Myanmar: The Impact of Social Media on Young People Living in Conflict-Affected Regions of Myanmar EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The advent of social media in Myanmar following the transition towards civilian rule announced in 2011 has given young people an important new platform for civic engagement and expression, and access to information and knowledge. But while young people are highly engaged with social media and its potential to bring benefits to their daily lives, this research reveals a number of alarming trends. Emerging new dangers such as online sexual harassment and hate speech are widespread and deeply concerning, and threaten to impact the safety and participation of girls and minority groups. Most young people lack the digital citizenship skills required to protect themselves from the online dangers and emotional and mental health impacts of social media highlighted in this report. The study finds evidence that young people across Myanmar suffer from ‘hate speech fatigue’, often exacerbated by repeat exposure to fake news and propaganda targeting specific communities. Over time, this effect limits young Myanmar users’ willingness to seek out and engage with reporting and blocking functions that may help combat fake news and hate speech online. Understanding the impact of social media on social and political discourse in Myanmar is of urgent, critical importance. While the young people in this study saw great potential for social media to increase empathy and understanding between different groups, the struggle to curb anti-Muslim hate speech in particular, and the structural and violent oppression it begets, is still very real. As recent global events have shown, democratic processes are especially vulnerable to disinformation campaigns and the spread of fake news and hate speech. Myanmar’s democracy is still new, and with elections upcoming in 2020, social media could very well play a role in shifting voter attitudes, especially among young people. About this report It has been clear for a number of years that digital connectedness is playing an important role in the lives of young people in Myanmar. Yet research on its impact has been limited. Very little substantive research has tested the actual impacts of increased exposure to online hate speech and fake news on populations of any age in Myanmar, let alone young people. The assumption that platforms such as Facebook increase the reach and speed of transmission of dangerous discourses is logical, but evidence is scant on the ground as to how variables like trust in the reliability on those platforms affect changes in the attitudes and offline behaviours of various audiences. Moreover, though international researchers increasingly study the emotional and psychological impacts of social media use among young people, such studies are yet to be duplicated in Myanmar. In response to this information gap, between November and December of 2018, Save the Children Myanmar undertook a piece of research to examine the impact of social media use on young people living in conflict-affected regions of Myanmar. In total, the research team conducted 16 focus group discussions (121 participants in total) and 38 key informant interviews. The study focused on how diverse groups of young people in Kayah and Rakhine States engage with issues of hate speech, propaganda, fake news, rumours, incitement to violence, and the impact of that engagement on young people’s on- and offline emotional well-being, attitudes, and behaviours. In addition, a short social media use survey was administered to 232 young people, including to all focus group and interview participants. This report is based on the data collected from that study. It begins with a literature review, examining prior relevant studies from Myanmar and further afield. It then provides an overview of the research methodology, including the guiding research questions, selection criteria, and team structure. The analysis is divided by region (the results of focus groups conducted in Kayah State and then Rakhine State), followed by a further section discussing findings from oneon-one interviews with young people, community leaders, parents, and other key informants. The report then details the results of the social media use survey, before presenting key findings and recommendations for advocacy and programming. 6