Ten years ago, the then Minister of Water, Land, Environment, and Climate Change Robert “Bobby” Pickersgill led a watershed moment (pun intended) in Jamaican politics, which at the time I didn’t think he intended.

I sat in Cabinet with him and, rest assured, he was neither faint-hearted nor weak-minded. He also had no diplomatic filter between his brain and his mouth, evident not only when he chaired PNP executive meetings, but also with the media.

Bobby was going to say what was on his mind, regardless of whether you tested his patience.

But this is not about the former minister and chairman of the PNP’s personality. It is rather about his dissonance, or some may say ignorance, at that time about the rapid proliferation of social/digital media within the Jamaican landscape as a communication tool and, some may argue, a weapon.

You may remember that fateful day when when he was asked how he felt about Jamaicans describing the National Housing Trust’s purchase of the Outameni property as a “scandal” or something similar. In his response, Bobby shunned answering the question entirely, citing his mindset that only a few people were speaking about it on Twitter and not ordinary Jamaicans.

“No ordinary Jamaican not speaking about it… Twitter is ordinary Jamaican? Ordinary Jamaicans know anything about Twitter?” he said. He went on to say that Jamaicans on Twitter are an “articulate minority” and suggested that whatever was happening regarding the conversations on Twitter was politically motivated.

As one of the first politicians to embrace and utilise social media then, I thought, “Lord, we’re dead now,” and pleaded with him to retract or say something else.

But, as they say, the die had already been cast.

Unlike traditional media, which is only one-way dissemination of information, one of the best features of social/digital media is that communication is two-way, and the commentary exists in real time. Live-streaming, posts, stories, and news commentary can now go viral to thousands of people in a matter of minutes.

Bobby’s comment about the articulate minority went viral, and I truly believe it helped to not only deepen the shift in voters’ mindsets about us as representatives, but also created an avenue for open, real-time, immediate critique from academia, students, entrepreneurs, entertainers, street vendors — you name the strata. They all had an opinion in the comments sections under articles, statements, pictures, and videos from the Government. They held nothing back, and no one was off limits, regardless of title, position, experience, or age. The opinions were consistent and brutal. And once the ‘herd’ smelled blood, they attacked, which led to the emergence of what came to be known as a cancel culture. They could kill the integrity of your name, brand, or competence just by one tweet.

I recall a billboard of mine being erected in Golden Grove during the 2020 General Election campaign. Unfortunately, the advertising company placed it in front of a pothole. Immediately, a man took a picture of his flat car tyre in the pothole in front of my billboard and posted it on Twitter. The comments under the picture were rapid-fire and scathing. But, ego aside, I had to accept their merit.

A beautiful billboard in front of a nasty pothole, the visuals and the reality of representation, did not add up for people, and it changed the way I paid attention to what others saw as ‘noise’. I saw it as critical feedback and was dispassionate about the intent and proactive in my constituency representation on social media by responding to individuals, pointing them in the right direction and asking for their feedback with the knowledge that it could be harsh.

But what this digital reality of two-way communication has also done in the political arena, in my mind, was embolden the surge and mainstay of “identity politics”. Now, people felt confident speaking out, because there were thousands of other voices just like theirs.

Broadly defined, identity politics is a political or social activity by or on behalf of a racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, or other groups, usually undertaken to rectify injustices suffered by group members because of differences or conflicts between their particular identity (or misconceptions of their particular identity), and the dominant identity (or identities) of a larger society.

Identity politics also aims, in the course of such activity, to eliminate damaging misrepresentations (stereotypes) of particular groups that have served to justify their members’ exclusion, exploitation, marginalisation, oppression, or assimilation to the point of erasure. It also encompasses large or separatist movements within particular countries and territories. For example, in the United States, groups associated with identity politics have included African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, Muslims, Jews, feminists, and the LGBTQ community. Moreover, identity politics is closely related to multiculturalism or the general view that cultural minority groups deserve respectful acknowledgment of their distinctive beliefs, values, and ways of life.

In 2024 over 85 per cent of US adults sometimes get news from a smartphone, computer, or tablet, including nearly 60 per cent who say they frequently turn to digital devices for their information. These stats are almost the same as in 2023. “Americans turn to TV, radio, and print publications for news far less now.” (Pew Research Center)

According to recent data, around 75 per cent to 80 per cent of people now use their smartphones to make purchases, with a significant majority of online shoppers utilising their phones as their primary device for shopping.

With superior technical algorithms and social media optimisation, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and podcasts, these platforms get their news out fast and the opinions and comments come in even faster.

It was no accident that the ‘world’s richest man’, Elon Musk, bought Twitter. He knew the platform’s potency and how he was going to use it. One of his first moves was to lift the ban and reinstate Donald Trump.

Paying attention, I told people very early that Donald Trump would win again regardless of the close polls and the Democratic Party changing Joe Biden for Kamala Harris so late in the game.

Why? I was watching the comments sections from the public from what digital media, especially X, was doing and I saw an emerging trend.

The fundamental “bread and butter” realities and whether Americans felt safe were not a secret for black men, Hispanics, whites, and young women. It was clear to me that people were going to vote on strengthening their pocketbooks and keeping America safe and protected physically from outside and other global economic threats. Plus, if the world’s richest man was prepared to go all in with his money and voice for Donald Trump, why shouldn’t they give him a chance?

While identity politics was still in play, I saw and heard others within these subgroupings (in digital media and podcasts) not giving a second thought to the morals of the candidates’ characters. They simply wanted someone who they felt the rest of the world feared and who demonstrated the competence to fix the economy so that they could buy food and pay their bills. Abortion, human rights, mass deportations, Project 2025 were all absent from their narrative.

As we pivot into the final year home stretch of our next election cycle, it’s time to focus on what are the main issues that are affecting the nation. Amid the rapid decline in unemployment and a much more stable economy, a large portion of the population still expresses, “Wi nah feel it, our cupboards haven’t evolved, and our lives haven’t improved — the onset seems dismal.”

This is indicative that people will focus on outcomes of their personal economic prosperity and not so much on morals, values, and “beautiful speaking”.

The victor will also come from the one who uses the digital platforms the best. Though politics has always been “local and on the ground”, it’s shifting to just viral.

A word to the wise is sufficient, for when chicken merry, the hawk is indeed near!

Lisa Hanna

Lisa Hanna is Member of Parliament for St Ann South Eastern, People’s National Party spokesperson on foreign affairs and foreign trade, and a former Cabinet member