Traditional media’s influence in four Asian markets – Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan – has not waned as a result of social media, delegates at Deutsche Welle’s (DW) Global Media Forum (22-24 June 2015) in Bonn were told.

During a session entitled “The political power of digital media in Asia”, speakers from media companies in Afghanistan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Indonesia said while social media environments in their markets were robust, the effect on traditional media was additive and complementary rather than destructive.

The impact of digital media on the political agenda seemed greatest in Afghanistan, where two thirds of the population were under 25 years old and unafraid to take to social media to express their opinions.

“Digital media is critical in transforming a society like ours,” said Lotfullah Najafizada, director, Tolo News, for Afghanistan’s Moby Group. “The empowerment aspect of digital media is phenomenal… People have the guts and the power to express themselves,” he said.

One of the most significant impacts of social media in Afghanistan was increased transparency and political accountability in holding politicians to their promises. “The increased transparency benefits the political environment,” Najafizada said.

Social media was also driving the mainstream news agenda. “Social media plays a very powerful role in Afghanistan,” Najafizada said. “There have been days that certain engagement on Facebook is being translated into the agenda in Parliament the next day,” he added.

In some instances, “digital media is being used to sell foreign policy decisions that might otherwise be very hard to sell,” Najafizada added, citing Afghanistan’s recently disclosed pact with Pakistan’s ISI.

In Malaysia, political parties have piled into social media in a big way. “Both sides have their cyber-troopers,” said Jeremy Kung, chief executive officer of Telekom Malaysia’s TM Net.

In Pakistan’s case, internet penetration was – at 15% – too low to make a difference either way, said Kamran Wajih, the director of strategy and planning for Pakistan’s Express TV. Pakistan’s mainstream media had not yet harnessed the power of digital, and remained not only unthreatened, but “alive and kicking” with hundreds of channels, Wajih said, adding that the situation was unlikely to change in the next five to eight years.

The main source of information and entertainment in Pakistan was traditional media platforms, which were pretty much oblivious to social media at the moment, Wajih said.

In Indonesia, “the strength of social media has been in the eradication of corruption,” said PT MNC Sky Vision’s vice president director, Handhi Kentjono. He also highlighted the power of social media on Indonesia’s political environment, saying current president Jokowi was elected by enforcement through social media. “New media has become a very powerful tool in political processes,” Kentjono said.

At the same time, traditional media still commanded an overwhelming share of viewer attention with 72% of ad revenue. “We cannot ignore new media. We have to prepare for the upcoming medium that will develop and inform viewing habits,” Kentjono said. MNC’s involvement in hosting WeChat in Indonesia, for instance, is part of a broad strategy for the connected environment.

“In many places, and we span a whole continent here, the key question is to allow countries to open up to empower their citizens. If it doesn’t happen, if people don’t have access to freedom, the price is very high,” Najafizada said.

“You can have internet access, access to 3G or 4G, but if you can’t use it, it’s not power. That is the number one challenge to focus on,” he added.