To show that even though social media use was limited, it was often connected to politics.
It was to demonstrate that, despite its modest use, social media was frequently linked to politics. The figures attempt to corroborate the claim that social media use in Egypt has been linked to politics, since the extract notes that while the majority of Egyptians do not use social media, those with college degrees do utilize it to obtain political information.
This is due to the fact that, despite their limited utilization by the nation's populace, they were utilized to inform the outside world of events.
Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell
In July 2012 a report was published by the United States Institute of Peace....
The study suggests that the importance of social media was in communicating to the rest of the world what was happening on the ground during the uprisings....
Data from the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project at least somewhat supports this conclusion with its findings that the majority of Egyptians are not online. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the total population do not use the internet. When looking specifically at those with a college education, use of social media for obtaining political information is more prevalent than in other segments of the population. Though most of the country is disconnected from the internet, 84% of those who are
How do the authors use statistics to support their claim?
to include ideas about how social media can help authoritarian regimes remain in power
to emphasize that Egyptians, even those who are highly educated, mistrust social media
to illustrate that social media motivated average Egyptians to take part in the uprisings
to show that even though social media use was limited, it was often directly connected to politics