Criticizing Thai society in a democratic digital age

Abstract

This academic article aims to reflect the changing landscape of Thai society from past to present, grounded in the democratic system with the monarchy as its head of state. Increased access to digital devices and the internet has significantly influenced social transformations, necessitating adaptation to evolving human behaviors across all dimensions, particularly in the political realm. This has given rise to the concept of "Digital Democracy" - a form of political participation through information technology that operates at local, regional, national, and global levels. The term "digital" refers to numerical representation in information theory or data systems, serving as a method to represent data or works in numerical format, specifically in binary form. This approach differs fundamentally from analog systems that use continuous values or signals, or represent data through continuous functions. Most contemporary computers and technologies primarily operate through digital signal transmission, especially in information communication technologies. This era is consequently termed the "Digital Age," which can be categorized into distinct stages: Digital 1.0 (Internet Era), Digital 2.0 (Social Media Era), Digital 3.0 (Big Data Analytics/Cloud Computing/Application Era), and Digital 4.0 (Machine-to-Machine Era). Essentially, it represents an electronic era characterized by rapid communication technologies that enable swift transmission of knowledge existing within society - encompassing news, images, or videos that can be accessed quickly and universally, at any time and place. The author has integrated concepts and theories from social sciences, political sciences, and public administration to present perspectives on social changes through various historical periods and events. The objective is to demonstrate both

concrete and abstract values, reflecting impacts that are both supportive and potentially diminishing, while proposing strategies to maintain and adapt to changes in the technology-driven world, commonly referred to as the digital age.