10. Japan, South Korea, Brazil: Post-industrial Societies; Hard and Software

This chapter presents an inter-regional comparison of East Asian and Latin American societies to highlight the nexus of sociocultural, political and economic change as it unfolded in selected post-industrial countries from these two areas. More specifically, we explore issues surrounding the use of the Internet and social media in the post-industrial societies of Japan and South Korea, and in the fast-developing and social media-obsessed Brazil. Social networking sites have contributed to the mobilisation and empowerment of people in all three post-industrial countries, although some observers are cautious, as political elites have strengthened efforts to monitor online postings in order to identify and block unfavourable comments.