How did Social media influence "Enough is Enough" movement in Nepal?

The "Enough Is Enough" movement in June 2020 represented a significant departure from previous youth activism in Nepal by fundamentally relying on social media as its backbone for organization, mobilization, and visibility. This movement, which emerged spontaneously and was spearheaded by young activists in response to the government's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, was largely independent of traditional political affiliations.

Social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok were crucial for:

• Decentralized Coordination: Youth utilized these platforms to notify supporters about demonstrations, disseminate slogans, share placard designs, and coordinate logistics across multiple urban centers, including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Biratnagar, and Chitwan. This digital infrastructure allowed the movement to expand rapidly, transforming localized protests into a multi-city network of simultaneous demonstrations, effectively operating without traditional hierarchical structures.
• Enhanced Visibility: Social media significantly enhanced the movement's visibility both nationally and internationally. Images of creative placards, videos of rap and rock performances, and posts of symbolic acts such as yoga and headstands went viral, amplifying the message far beyond the physical protest sites. This viral content attracted media coverage, further magnifying the movement's reach and transcending geographic boundaries, mobilizing support from a wider demographic, including women, students, and marginalized communities.
• Dialogue and Cultural Resistance: Platforms also functioned as spaces for dialogue and virtual resistance. Rap lyrics, pop songs, and slogans shared online sparked conversations and debates, enabling the movement to engage audiences in critical reflection on corruption, government inefficiency, and citizen rights. Even taboo expressions circulated digitally, normalizing creative dissent and signaling widespread frustration toward leadership while circumventing conventional censorship.

In essence, social media operated as both a tool of coordination and a megaphone for cultural resistance, orchestrating a peaceful, creative, and highly visible form of activism that broke with Nepal's historical precedent of violent and party-directed protest.