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Why the Internet is Bad for Democracy
Abstract
The Internet is not simply a set of interconnected links and protocols---it is also a construct of the imagination, an inkblot test into which everyone projects their desires, fears, and fantasies. Some see enlightenment and education. Others see pornography and gambling. Some see sharing and collaboration. Others see spam and viruses. Yet when it comes to the impact on the democratic process, the answer seems unanimous. The Internet is good for democracy. It creates digital citizens active in the teledemocracy [1] of the Electronic Republic [2] in the e-nation [3]. But this bubble, too, needs to be pricked.
... From these data points, we can see that the optimism that marked the initial years of the internet espousing its potential to democratise speech needs serious interrogation. During its early growth and expansion, the internet was hailed for its potential to revolutionise political activities in more profound ways than previous media such as radio and television (Ferdinand, 2000;Breindl, 2010), allowing new forms of political participation (Bennett & Segerberg, 2012) which would broadly have positive impact on democratic processes (Noam, 2005). Both Breindl (2010) and Noam (2005) have, however, also discussed how these normative ideals and positive assumptions regarding the internet's power to enforce democratic principles need to be unpacked significantly. ...
... During its early growth and expansion, the internet was hailed for its potential to revolutionise political activities in more profound ways than previous media such as radio and television (Ferdinand, 2000;Breindl, 2010), allowing new forms of political participation (Bennett & Segerberg, 2012) which would broadly have positive impact on democratic processes (Noam, 2005). Both Breindl (2010) and Noam (2005) have, however, also discussed how these normative ideals and positive assumptions regarding the internet's power to enforce democratic principles need to be unpacked significantly. Breindl (2010) discusses how potentialities of internet should be seen not in binary terms of good and bad but in continuum: for example, the same technology that allows harnessing of huge amounts of data can be used to spread disinformation. ...
In this paper, we attempt to outline and to discuss how social media platforms provide the public a space, albeit unsafe, in quasi-authoritarian contexts to share their opinions and grievances on contentious issues. We focus on the case study of a short-lived yet intense wave of social media outrage against a corrupt actor, Shahed, in Bangladesh, who was accused of selling fake Covid-19 tests to the public. Identifying it as an instance of flash activism in the digitally-networked media arena, the paper brings out some of the characteristics that define this act of public outrage under increasing government surveillance , such as the brief duration of the protests, the public indignation that resulted in the online expressions of the outrage and users' strategies such as employing humour and satire to express indignation and avoid being persecuted by the regime. Our aim with this short paper is to understand how the internet challenges authoritarian governments inso-far as it gives voice to citizens to express grievance, how governments transform their legal repertoire to gag their population from voicing opinions, and how people still find new, innovative ways to express themselves under such regimes.
... However, Noam (2005) identified the following as reasons why the Internet is bad for democracy, including that since everyone benefits from the reduction in the cost of political activities occasioned by the Internet, that advantage could inevitably engender a more expensive process where everyone is simultaneously speaking with no one listening. There is the inevitable information clutter occasioning the need for louder messages and inevitable distortions and simplistic messages. ...
... Twitter and facebook accounts are, among others, being used for a continuing conversation with the online community locally and in the Diaspora for the obvious purpose of positioning. This has had the collateral effect of generating its share of clutter and distortion as Noam (2005) has noted. In each case opposing views designed to trumpet the electability of particular candidates are promoted depending on the platform and sponsor, to the detriment of the opposition. ...
... «Will the Internet Be Bad for Democracy?») [34] стверджує, що більшість аналітиків роблять так звану помилку композиції, тобто плутають мікроповедінку з макрорезультатами: вони вважають, що, якщо щось корисно для окремої людини, то воно також корисно і суспільству в цілому, коли воно це використає. Е.М. ...
... І в цьому сенсі надії, покладені на Інтернет, -це ще одна ланка в ланцюгу надій. Можливо, наївних, але безумовно, таких, що облагороджують» [34]. ...
Шляхом проведення епістемологічної оцінки в статті здійснено спробу подолання утопічних й дистопічних міркувань, які превалюють в судженнях щодо впливу Інтернету на організацію публічної сфери, а також проведено постмодерністський перегляд теорії Ю. Габермаса з точки зору сучасної медіа-революції. Обґрунтовано формування не-егалітарної мережевої публічної сфери, яка постає як паралельні дискурсивні арени, на яких члени соціальних груп виробляють і розповсюджують контрдискурси, що в свою чергу дозволяє їм формулювати опозиційні інтерпретації власних ідентичностей, інтересів та потреб. Зроблено висновок про те, що демократія виявляє себе не стільки в кібер-просторі, скільки через реальну структуру суспільних відносин, що дозволяє виконувати ряд завдань, серед яких розвиток інституту громадського діалогу та формування соціальної солідарності. Разом з тим вказано, що відбувається значне послаблення символічної влади традиційних відправників повідомлень (інститутів влади), що здійснюють управління за допомогою історично закодованих соціальних практик (як-то: політична ідеологія, релігія, традиційні цінності). Вказано на ряд факторів, які компрометують репрезентативність віртуальної сфери, а саме: нерівність доступу до інформації, фрагментація політичного дискурсу, мімікрія до існуючої політичної культури, а не створення нової. Підкреслено вагому перспективу в розробці життєздатних варіантів цифрового майбутнього й конфігурації моделей позитивних зрушень.
... The final view sees the Internet as a wildcard that is unpredictable and therefore potentially harmful to organizations. Authors taking this view, such as Noam (2005), Wilson (2007), Lofgren and Willim (2006), and Burke (2007) will be called Techno-skeptics here. This perspective is not anti-technology per se, but instead takes a more skeptical view about the promises made related to the technology and cautions against over reliance on what is, essentially, and unproven commodity. ...
... Walking a middle ground between the two, Sclove (1995) argues for an open dialogue about the potential positive and negative impacts of the technology to reach a societal understanding of the risks involved. Some of these risks are outlined by Noam (2005), who cautions against expecting positive outcomes for democracy through the Internet, stating that negative outcomes are just as likely if caution is not applied to predictions related to the technology. ...
... However, some authors have been sceptical, even from the early days, about the potential impact of the Internet. Some have even made suggestions that the Internet can be bad for democracy (Noam 2005). The presidential election in South Korea in 2002 offers some very interesting insights into the interplay between the Internet and politics. ...
... It is argued that these inequalities will act to reinforce the existing social structures, rather than bringing freedom and equality to all individuals (Agre 2002). Another theory suggests that the Internet, instead of connecting individuals, will act as a fragmenting influence, destroying established communities which are the very basis for participatory democracy (Noam 2005). ...
This paper examines the impact of the Internet on politics in South Korea. Many have noted the Internet's political potential due to its versatile nature as a communication medium. However, recent studies are beginning to show the influence of the Internet to be more moderate than expected initially. South Korea represents a very interesting case because of its extremely high Internet penetration rate and its youthful democracy. Two specific cases – a political fan-club called 'Rohsamo' and the Internet news medium 'Ohmynews' – have attracted particular attention mainly because of their perceived pivotal role in the 2002 presidential election. In this paper the part played by Rohsamo and Ohmynews in Korean politics is examined. While the research does not support claims which place the Internet as a revolutionary political force, it shows that the Internet has the potential to be a major player in South Korean politics.
... Pues bien, el componente simbólico sobre lo digital en educación, esa capa de comprensión del para qué y cómo usar educativamente la tecnología digital, el con qué, es sustancial para encarar con sentido el uso de la tecnología tanto a nivel macroeducativo como microeducativo, con o sin pandemia. Tan importante como tener internet es saber qué idea tenemos de ella (Noam, 2005). En este punto, las creencias, ese nudo conceptual dinámico que se construyen desde la observación directa, de deducción desde otra creencia o por una fuente informacional externa, forman parte fundamental del uso y apropiación de lo tecnológico en educación por parte de los docentes (Albion y Ertmer, 2002;Cheng et al., 2020). ...
La respuesta educativa mundial ante la pandemia se ha basado en la digitalización de los procesos de aprendizaje. Estos procesos han sido disímiles, en su gran mayoría por ensayo y error, y basados en condiciones socioeducativas diversas ¿Qué aprendizaje se puede extraer de este inédito proceso educativo? Parte de esta respuesta está en el profesorado que ha gestionado esta educación de emergencia. En este sentido, este estudio busca explorar y caracterizar las debilidades, amenazas, fortalezas y oportunidades (DAFO) con que el docente peruano de secundaria concibe la digitalización en el marco de la pandemia por Covid-19. El estudio recurre a un enfoque de investigación cualitativo a partir de entrevistas basadas en el análisis DAFO a 1106 docentes en activo. El proceso siguió cuatro fases de trabajo y se codificaron 21725 segmentos de texto que se organizan en 67 subcategorías. El trabajo revela que la percepción del proceso de digitalización de la escuela peruana está marcada por la debilidad que imprime la brecha digital de acceso, por la amenaza de deserción por conectividad, por la oportunidad del desarrollo docente con tecnología y la fortaleza que supone, para docentes y alumnos, el desarrollo de la competencia digital. La visión con que los docentes han hecho efectiva la integración de la tecnología en pandemia es un elemento sustancial para el diseño de políticas educativas y la construcción de una pedagogía de cara a educación post Covid-19.
... «La Web es más una creación social que técnica», apunta Berners-Lee (2001, pág.115). La tecnología digital no es neutra y, en buena medida, está condicionada por su singularidad tecnológica, pero es también lo que imaginamos hacer con ella (Noam, 2005). Por ello, educar siguiendo la lógica de Google será muy diferente a educar según la lógica de Wikipedia (Ricaurte y Carli, 2016). ...
Las humanidades como la pedagogía comparten una serie de retos con respecto a lo digital que están por encima de una simple aproximación instrumental. Por una parte, el reto de ir más allá de la mera digitalización de documentos y productos culturales para abundar en la comprensión, la práctica y la crítica de la cultura digital y, por otra parte, el reto de apostar por un cambio educativo digital y no por un mero cambio digital en la educación. Desde esta intersección de caminos, el capítulo propone desarrollar un examen global del impacto social y cultural de Internet, una exposición de los puntos de conexión entre la pedagogía y las humanidades digitales y, finalmente, la identificación de diez principios para avanzar en la hibridación entre pedagogía y humanidades desde lo digital.
... However, many authors have been cautious and less optimistic about the Internet. Instead, they have denounced the digital exclusion and the cooptation of democratic potentials by stronger and hegemonic players (Margolis and Resnick, 2000;Noam, 2002;Castells, 2013). In recent decades, for example, social networks that were initially celebrated as democratic tools became targets of closed regimes as in the case of the Arab Spring in 2013. ...
The objective of this study is to examine the development of socio-technical accountability mechanisms in order to: a) preserve and increase the autonomy of individuals subjected to surveillance and b) replenish the asymmetry of power between those who watch and those who are watched. To do so, we address two surveillance realms: intelligence services and personal data networks. The cases studied are Spain and Brazil, from the beginning of the political transitions in the 1970s (in the realm of intelligence), the expansion of Internet digital networks covering the 2020s (in the realm of personal data), to resistance principles in a long-term future. The examination of accountability, thus, comprises a holistic evolution of institutions, regulations, market strategies, as well as resistance tactics. The conclusion summarizes the accountability mechanisms and proposes universal principles to improve the legitimacy of authority in surveillance and politics in a broad sense.
PREFACE, INTRODUCTION;
PART 1. Zero.
Chapter 1. Theoretical Framework;
1.1. On the forms of power
1.1.a. Restraining power: About the importance of controlling the uncontrollable.
1.1.b. Executing power: The aporia between exceptionality and normalization
1.1.c. Justifying power: A brief epistemological history
1.1.d. Constructing power: In the name of security
1.2. On surveillance: Real metaphors and perspectives
1.3. On privacy: Basic remarks
1.4. On accountability: The art of squaring the circle
Chapter 2. Methodology and Operationalization
2.1. Hypothesis
2.2. Operationalization
PART 2. 1975.
Chapter 3. Accountability in the realm of intelligence
3.1. Intelligence
3.2. Authoritarian legacies
3.2.a. The Spanish authoritarian legacy
3.2.b. The Brazilian authoritarian legacy
3.3. Intelligence institutional paths
3.3.a. The Spanish path: SECED, CESID, CNI
3.3.b. The Brazilian path: SNI, SAE, ABIN-SISBIN
3.4. Internal control
3.5. Legislative control
3.6. Judicial control
3.7. Accountability of third dimension
3.8. The media role and civil society
Chapter 4. Surveillance and intelligence: connecting the points
4.1. Surveillance metaphors and intelligence
4.2. Intelligence and the management of subjects
4.3. Intelligence accountability and legitimate resistance
PART 3. 2020.
Chapter 5. Accountability in the realm of personal data
5.0. Personal data
5.1. State regulations
5.1.a. Personal data protection in Spain
5.1.b. Personal data protection in Brazil
5.2. Market strategies
5.2.a. Internet and data business
5.2.b. Accountability of big market players
5.2.c. Further approaches: algorithms, privacy by design, and oligopolies
5.3. Civic agency
5.3.a. Ironic stream
5.3.b. Deliberative stream
5.3.c. Agonistic stream
5.3.d. Despair stream
Chapter 6. Surveillance and personal data: connecting the points
6.1. Surveillance metaphors and personal data
6.2. Personal data and the management of subjects
6.3. Personal data accountability and further resistance
PART 4. 2084.
“Postscript” on the societies of surveillance;
Metanarratives for resistance
I. Icarus model
II. Sisyphus model
III. Orphic model
The desert is advancing: Accountability revisited
CONCLUSION
References
Appendices
... The Internet's effect on democracy and the political process has been much debated by many scholars (Barnett, 1997;Castells, 2011;Kalathil & Boas, 2010;Noam, 2005;Norris, 2001). For the most part, observers do not believe the Internet will impact democracy in a positive or negative way. ...
The Internet and Social Network Sites (SNSs) have created spaces where groups and individuals can communicate, collaborate, and mobilize. These new spaces are important for civic actors, especially in repressive political environments, because they significantly lower costs and remove impediments that may affect collective action. Collective identity is a strong predictor of collective action and mobilization in social movements and civil society groups. This article examines the civil society sector in Sudan via an analysis of the communication patterns and online networks of two organizations. The research investigates how shared grievances among individuals may create a sense of community and collective identity, consequently leading to collective action. The Internet and SNSs serve as facilitators for this collective action.
... The first school can be labeled "optimistic" (Barlow, 1996;De Sola Pool, 1983;Grossman, 1995;Hauben & Hauben, 1997), arguing that the Internet enables enhanced exposure to out-group members due to reduction of costs in creating and maintaining online contacts with different individuals widely dispersed across the globe (Schumann, Van Der Linden, & Klein, 2012;Walther, Hoter, Ganayem, & Shonfeld, 2015;White & Abu-Rayya, 2012). However, scholars such as Noam (2002), Shapiro (1999), and Sunstein (2001) argue that as a result of the radical abundance of online content and social media platforms, users would increasingly interact with like-minded individuals. Although the Internet drastically reduces obstacles for expression, it also encourages users to associate with individuals and groups with whom they share common interests and opinions. ...
One of the key questions addressed by the study of online social media is whether or not they facilitate cross-cleavage communication between users of different nationality, ethnicity, religiosity, and other group affiliations. This study contributes to the literature by addressing communication across religious cleavages, which has scarcely received attention. The study is based on 97 semistructured interviews of a layered sample. Of the respondents, 40 were secular (21 men and 19 women), 28 Modern Orthodox (14 men and 14 women), and 29 ultra-Orthodox (11 men and 18 women). We found that groups differing by their majority/minority status and type of religious observance used the Internet for different purposes. Many secular respondents (members of the majority group in Israel) were motivated to make contact on social media by social needs. On the other hand, ultra-Orthodox respondents (members of the minority group) were exclusively focused on professional objectives as a motivation to use social media. Consequently, their online behaviors were quite different and they more frequently encounter people from groups differing by type of religious observance through social media.
... This nuanced position tries to avoid the perception that the World Wide Web only reinforces the status quo' (Margolis and Resnick, 2000). Some critics go as far as to argue that, rather than invigorating it, the Internet could seriously undermine the health of democracy, by providing access to individualized information environments resulting in group polarization, by forcing political arguments that become "distorted, shrill, and simplistic" amongst the array of competing online messages (Noam, 2002). While we reject utopian and dystopian ideas that followed the 90s rhetoric of internet triumphalism, it does not mean that we ignore the increasing dispute and expansion of institutional and especially commercial forces. ...
This theoretical article questions to what extent digital flows are articulated to enhance accountability within democratic paths. The aim is to analyze accountability principles across legal frameworks (institutional dimensions), market practices and societal strategies (functional dimensions) at European level. We are focused on the management of personal data in a digital world because data fragments could be deemed as extensions of physical bodies and traditional biopolitics. The article is structured to analyze the cross-references and influences within the triangle state-market-society. This structure apprehends the connections, representations and the limits of accountability regarding personal data. The conclusion summarizes those limits and distinguishes essentialist and deterministic approaches of digital networks as automatic enhancers of accountability principles. Resumen: Este artículo teórico cuestiona hasta qué punto flujos de información digital se articulan para promover principios de accountability dentro de caminos democráticos. Para ello, se considera la administración de la accountability dentro de marcos legales (dimensión institucional) y en las estrategias empleadas por actores del mercado y societales (dimensión funcional) a nivel europeo. El enfoque recae sobre el uso de datos personales como trasfondo del mundo digital ya que esos pueden ser considerados extensiones de cuerpos físicos y de la biopolítica tradicional. El artículo está estructurado para analizar interrelaciones e influencias dentro del triangulo estado-mercado-sociedad. Esta estructura aprehende las conexiones, representaciones y límites de la accountability para crear y procesar flujos digitales. La conclusión sintetiza esos límites y distingue posiciones esencialistas y deterministas sobre las redes digitales como promotores mecanicistas de accountability dentro de principios democráticos.
... Si los cambios dependiesen únicamente de la aplicación de tecnología, al día de hoy, ya no habría problemas educativos. Pero no es así, existe algo más: "internet no es únicamente un conjunto de enlaces y protocolos interconectados, es también un constructo de la imaginación" (Noam, 2005). Su uso depende también de la idea que tengamos de ella. ...
... Si los cambios dependiesen únicamente de la aplicación de tecnología, al día de hoy, ya no habría problemas educativos. Pero no es así, existe algo más: "internet no es únicamente un conjunto de enlaces y protocolos interconectados, es también un constructo de la imaginación" (Noam, 2005). Su uso depende también de la idea que tengamos de ella. ...
... Si los cambios dependiesen únicamente de la aplicación de tecnología, al día de hoy, ya no habría problemas educativos. Pero no es así, existe algo más: "internet no es únicamente un conjunto de enlaces y protocolos interconectados, es también un constructo de la imaginación" (Noam, 2005). Su uso depende también de la idea que tengamos de ella. ...
https://digital.fundacionceibal.edu.uy/jspui/handle/123456789/229
... Si los cambios dependiesen únicamente de la aplicación de tecnología, al día de hoy, ya no habría problemas educativos. Pero no es así, existe algo más: "internet no es únicamente un conjunto de enlaces y protocolos interconectados, es también un constructo de la imaginación" (Noam, 2005). Su uso depende también de la idea que tengamos de ella. ...
... Si los cambios dependiesen únicamente de la aplicación de tecnología, al día de hoy, ya no habría problemas educativos. Pero no es así, existe algo más: "internet no es únicamente un conjunto de enlaces y protocolos interconectados, es también un constructo de la imaginación" (Noam, 2005). Su uso depende también de la idea que tengamos de ella. ...
El trabajo gira en torno a la pregunta ¿dónde está esa exigencia educativa añadida sobre internet? Más que esperar la próxima innovación tecnológica, es necesario hacer una lectura pedagógica de internet como estadio de desarrollo social y cultural en la educación. Como entorno que es, internet no es factor accesorio en el aprendizaje, es parte de su explicación, de su avance o limitación.
Si no existe aprendizaje al margen del entorno, entonces es necesario redefinir en el aprendizaje en internet, entre otras cosas, la matriz básica de interacción educativa estándar: la relación profesor-alumnos, propia de la cultura del aula. Los flujos de interacción en internet son tan distintos –para bien o mal- a los flujos de comunicación en el aula que exigen un encuadre para hablar de ellos. A este encuadre le llamamos Zona Red de Aprendizaje (ZRA).
Pensar la educación en internet, por tanto, es pensar en el aprendizaje alojado en un proyecto comunicativo en red. Sobre estos flujos en red se vienen gestando otras formas de coordinación humana, por ejemplo, en la ciencia -ciencia ciudadana- y el consumo –consumo colaborativo, no confundir con economía “colaborativa” corporativa- desde donde cabe pensar en otras oportunidades educativas más abiertas y en red.
Como se señala en el libro: “En general, la pregunta que obliga la zona red de aprendizaje (ZRA) no versa sobre una aplicación concreta en internet, sino sobre la oportunidad de aprendizaje basado en la coordinación colaborativa reticular. Esto es, la ZRA alude a la red de coordinación social que tejemos con otros al aprender en internet” (Suárez, 2018, 130). Se trata de hacer significativa en internet la pregunta ¿con quién aprender?
... overload of information and countless distractions of non-political content. Similarly,Noam (2005) warns about the negative consequences of misinformation and that an increase in the quantity of information enabled by the internet does not automatically increase the quality of information. Moreover, the publishing of political opinions and face recognition tools online opens gates to opinion registration and electronic surveillance(Morozov, 2011). ...
The objective of this thesis is to gain knowledge
about citizens’ online political participation in
contemporary democracies. Some scholars have
regarded the internet as a potential remedy to
decreasing levels of traditional political participation.
This is partly because the internet expands
the political participation repertoire for citizens.
On the one hand, entirely new forms of participation,
like hacktivism, emerge online. On the other
hand, the internet revitalizes older forms of political
participation, such as petitioning and political
discussion. This thesis concerns how citizens use
these latter forms of political participation.
When political participation moves online, it becomes
interwoven with a central characteristic of
the internet; anonymity. Once a greatly debated
topic regarding the secret ballot, online anonymity
has now revived a discussion about the effects
of anonymity on human behavior, or more
specifically, political behavior in terms of online
political participation. This thesis sheds light on
how citizens use anonymity within the context of
e-petitioning and political discussion.
... At a glance, this cyber technology seems like a good deal. However, many believe that isn't the case [Noam, 2005;Wainer et al, 2008]. First, the more games and social medias one individual needs would mean that he/she spends more time online to attend them all. ...
Formation of identity is very important in adolescence. However, as technology develops to be more and more complex, one aspect in adolescent’s life has grown to be more important, that is online-self. In their online interaction, just like in any other social interaction, individuals—in this case adolescents—expect to be seen as well as behave in some specific ways. In order to do so, they create a set of attributes that are unique and different from their own offline-self. For example, an individual can be so timid in real life, and yet he/she can be very active and open in one’s online presence. Often, this discrepancy leads to many problems, including too much time spending online to nurture their online-self and neglecting one’s real life’s obligations.
This study aims to elaborate this phenomenon. Subjects are asked about their ideal self as well as online and offline real self. This study will elaborate three main problem, such: 1). Are online and offline-self are significantly differ? 2). If they are different, how are they usually different and why would these differences needed? 3). Which one is more preferable and similar to their ideal self?
Keywords: Online and Offline Self, Identity.
... We write and receive fewer pieces of handwritten mail today. Noam (2005) remarks that the flood of electronic messages may reduce their persuasiveness and that in that environment "the most effective means of communications to an elected official-other than a campaign contribution check-becomes the handwritten letter". We do not know if President Bush received the letter or was persuaded by it because he did not offer any response. ...
Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist Thích Nhất Hạnh has been a leading figure in the promotion of nonviolent practice throughout the world. We examine his concept of engaged Buddhism, theories of nonviolence, and intersections with rhetorical and communication studies. His approach takes nonviolence beyond the realm of refusing to use physical violence to the recognition that language itself can be violent. In order to understand this approach we detail the concepts of interbeing, loving speech, and deep listening. We examine the role of love in Nhất Hạnh’s theory of nonviolence, comparing it with approaches taken by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Examples are given from many of Nhất Hạnh’s speeches and writings with particular attention paid to a love letter he wrote to US President George W. Bush during the Iraq War. Thích Nhất Hạnh offers the practice of writing a love letter to one’s perceived enemy as a means to persuade for a turn to nonviolence.
... Although the Internet enables enhanced exposure to out-group members, users increasingly interact with like-minded individuals (Noam, 2005;Sunstein, 2001). Studies that have focused on political blog readership and linking patterns have generally suggested high levels of social homophily and polarization (Adamic & Glance, 2005), but more in-depth analyses of blog content suggest that cross-cutting dialog occurs nonetheless (Benkler & Shaw, 2010;Hargittai, Gallo, & Kane, 2008). ...
In light of the growing role of social media in conflict management,
the current study analyzes the interrelationship of online political
participation of Israeli Jews, the frequency of their online contacts
with Arabs, and Jews’ perceived social distances from Arabs. The
research was conducted through an online survey of a
representative sample of 458 Israeli Jews who use the social
media at least 3 times a week. Overall, although causation cannot
be inferred because of the correlational design of our study,
results suggest that frequency of online contacts may positively
affect closeness to Arabs in line with contact theory. In keeping
with the socialization perspective of political engagement, the
findings indicate that the impact of online political participation
on social distances from Arabs was mediated by interactions
between Jews and Arabs in the social media
... (p. 26) When the dominant parties actualize their resources for a comprehensive and sophisticated digital presence, they will not only be more active online but their websites will be more functional; in turn, this will attract more traffic (Foot and Schneider, 2006;Noam, 2005). ...
The article analyzes whether Facebook campaigning is consistent with the Normalization or Equalization hypothesis, drawing on data from the election campaigns for the 20th Israeli Parliament in 2015. We looked at six indicators of Facebook activity (number of fans, number of posts, and scope of engagement [likes, comments, shares, and overall engagement]) of all parties running for the Knesset as well as candidates with realistic electability rankings. We found that a comparison between dominant and peripheral parties across all indicators is consistent with the Normalization hypothesis, but when it is framed in terms of expectations and is forward-looking rather than backward-looking, that is, the difference in Facebook performance is between parties that expect to gain a significant number of seats in the parliament, and those that do not anticipate significant parliamentary achievements.
... Demgegenüber stehen skeptische Stimmen, die entweder lediglich eine Spiegelung der bereits vorhandenen Muster von Partizipation und Deliberation vermuten (Margolis et al. 2000), bei der die Handlungsmuster der Online-Welt sich kaum von denen der Offline-Welt unterscheiden. Andere halten gar einen Qualitätsverlust demokratischer Prozesse für möglich. 2 So könnte das Funktionieren der Demokratie durch die neue Technologie unterminiert werden (Sunstein 2011), das Rationalitätsniveau der politischen Debatten abgesenkt und im Netz nur noch die schrillen und vereinfachten Stimmen zu hören sein (Eisel 2011;Noam 2005). Weiterhin wird angezweifelt, dass das Netz tatsächlich mehr Inklusivität und auch Gleichheit der Stimmen produziert (Hindman 2009). ...
Zusammenfassung
Die wachsende Präsenz und Nutzung digitaler Medien löste mitunter utopische Erwartungen an deren demokratisierendes Potential aus. Aber auch skeptische Stimmen, die eher einen Verlust an demokratischer Qualität vermuten, ließen nicht lange auf sich warten. Hier wird für einen netzrealistischen Zugang plädiert, der die Analyse und Abwägung demokratieförderlicher und -hinderlicher Effekte verfolgt und damit in der Lage ist, die Ambivalenzen aufzuzeigen. Auf dieser Grundlage kann die Wirkung von sozialen Medien in Bezug auf eine Qualitätszu- oder abnahme in Bezug auf zentrale demokratische Prinzipien wie Repräsentation, Partizipation, Responsivität und Öffentlichkeit bewertet werden.
... Opponents of the commonly accepted yet debatable view that the Internet sustains democracy, including Noam (2005), have sought to warn against positivist thoughts suggesting political dialogue has, in some countries, increased as a direct result of augmented digital participation. He concludes: "The Internet does not create a Jeffersonian democracy. ...
In today’s increasingly innovative and globalized world, it is impossible to ignore the dominance of an emerging new form of journalism characterized by rapid reporting, interminable interactivity and ubiquitous multimedia content sharing and customization. Indeed, digital technologies have had a profound effect on the way news content is perceived, produced, shared and analysed. It therefore is by no surprise that the emergence of citizen journalism has not escaped scientific scrutiny (see Allan and Thorsen, 2009; Benkler, 2006). Produced in a matter of seconds, news can be shared instantly across the world, with the supremacy of citizen-inspired content becoming an overriding feature of contemporary news production. The etymology of “citizen journalism” barely needs to be studied anymore as the term is widely used and commonly accepted. But in a world where any computer or mobile phone owner is potentially a news publisher, concerns will be raised about the long-term reliability and expediency of news and content produced by non-professional actors in a technologically deterministic and fast transforming world of journalism. It is against this background that this book uses a case-to-case analysis of citizen journalism practices, based on specific studies from sub-Saharan Africa, with a view of scrutinizing this palpable emerging force — which, thanks to the ubiquity of new media technologies, continues to gather significant momentum in Africa and beyond — and investigating positivistic claims linking technological revolution to democratic changes.
... 5 Benkler's position is not technologically deterministic, but it certainly asserts a positive relationship between Internet usage and potential for civic action. However, early criticisms to the democratizing effects of the Internet have drawn attention to the still uneven levels of Internet access, the lack of reciprocity in most online communication (Bohman, 2004: 135;Papacharissi, 2008: 234-235), the online information overload that leads to the fragmentation of online publics (Dahlberg, 2007;Habermas, 2006: 423-424 n. 3;Sustein, 2009), the polarization of discourse practices (Benkler, 2006: 235), and the commercialization of online channels of information and communication (Noam, 2005;Papacharissi, 2008: 235-236). Second-generation criticisms have also focused on dynamics of centralization, or the way in which only few websites receive most readers' attention, while many more are never visited by anyone (Benkler, 2006: 235-236;Hindman, 2009). ...
Despite the rapid growth of a blogosphere literature interested in blogging practices across democratic countries and authoritarian regimes, little is known about Cuban blogs. This study aims to bridge this gap by specifically looking at 66 blogs from four ideologically diverging Cuban blog platforms. By applying a combination of social network analysis and content analysis techniques, the study investigates structure and content of the Cuban blogosphere. Findings show that blog interactions have developed differently depending on the blogs’ ideological orientation although cross-ideologictsal interactions have sometimes emerged. The Cuban blogosphere has extended beyond national borders primarily via diaspora blogs, centering its discourse network on domestic political issues divergent from those available on state- or US-controlled mainstream media.
... Optimists believe that the growth of the Internet will foster more democratic behavior among citizens and even weaken dictatorial regimes, 66 while skeptics argue that there is more hype than real change. 67 Although there is a positive correlation between measures of democracy and Internet diffusion in most countries, there is still no convincing evidence that there is any causal relation between the two. 68 While scholars such as Benkler argue that the Internet has created an environment where it is increasingly difficult for governments to suppress democratic aspirations of citizens, 69 there are others such as Kalathil and Boas who argue that in extreme authoritarian regimes, the impact of the Internet on democracy is more nebulous. ...
The 2007 Saffron Revolution in Burma was in many ways an unprecedented event in the intersection between politics and technology. There is, of course, the obvious: the event marks a rare instance in which a government leveraged control of nationalized ISPs to entirely black out Internet access to prevent images and information about the protests from reaching the outside world. At another level, it is an example of an Internet driven protest which did not lead to tangible political change. On deeper reflection it is also of interest because of the complex interaction between eyewitnesses within the country and a networked public sphere of bloggers, student activists, and governments around the globe. To that end, this case study examines the root causes, progress, and outcomes of the Saffron Revolution and attempts to parse out the extent to which technology may have played a useful or detrimental role in the unfolding of events. The case concludes with some initial hypotheses about the long-term impact of the protests and the role of the Internet in highly authoritarian states.
A rich academic understanding of the relation between e-governance and sustainable development is crucial for studying the current ‘twin transition’, i.e. the connection between the digital and sustainability transition. An analysis of current literature highlights that there is a strong emphasis on the question how e-governance can be an instrument for realizing sustainable development. This research is important but does not cover all relevant problem areas. Our conceptual analysis extends the dominant focus on the digital and sustainable transitions to include destructive connections – the environmental costs of e-government – and an institutional perspective on e-governance. Developing multiple perspectives on the twin transition is crucial since the current, seemingly unconditional, faith in the power of technology, may hamper a fundamental debate on the contribution of e-governance to sustainable development. This paper concludes with a research agenda that stresses the need to study three key issues: (1) green e-governance as mitigating the environmental costs of e-governance, (2) e-governance as a barrier for the sustainability transition, and (3) the ecology logic as a basis for shaping the twin transition.
Los aeropuertos son fuente de prosperidad económica, pero los aeropuertos principales de muchas ciudades están llegando al límite de su capacidad. Frente a las dificultades de expandirlos, el desarrollo de sistemas multiaeropuerto puede ser un mecanismo para adaptarse a la presión de la demanda. Sin embargo, los sistemas multiaeropuerto son difíciles de desarrollar, ya que no existe una tipología clara y dependen de particularidades locales. Por otro lado, y seguramente sea lo más relevante, las aerolíneas tienen pocos incentivos para operar en aeropuertos secundarios. En un mercado liberalizado, las aerolíneas siempre tenderán a concentrar su actividad en el aeropuerto principal. En este artículo presentamos estos principios básicos de funcionamiento que hacen de los sistemas multiaeropuerto un equilibrio difícil, aunque interesante de tratar de conseguir.
Purpose
Social media have become the main channel of direct communication between members of parliament and constituents. The study analyzes the content in all Israeli MPs' Facebook channels throughout an entire term of parliament and asks if the results are consistent with the equalization or the normalization hypotheses.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses automatic analysis to produce a birds-eye-view of the content uploaded to the Facebook pages of all Israeli MPs during a full term of parliament. All 106 MP pages were automatically scraped. Some complementary information was added to each post in the dataset, such as post length (number of words) and whether the page belongs to a member of the opposition or coalition. The total of 441,974 posts was analyzed to compare engagement and publication rates between pages, coalition vs opposition MPs, MPs vs users etc.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that the MP-Facebook sphere is non-egalitarian, in that it follows skewed distributions by MPs in terms of post publication and engagement rates; non-inclusive, in that pages of coalition members receive significantly much more engagement vis-a-vis pages of members of the oppositions; and “top-down”, in that MP-authored posts receive dramatically more engagement then user-authored posts, suggesting MPs have a near-monopoly on setting the agendas manifest in their pages, while users have extremely limited agenda-setting capabilities in these pages.
Originality/value
Previous studies have looked at the character of the interactions between MPs and constituents on the Internet and particularly on online social media. Yet, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study provides a birds-eye-view of the content in all MPs' Facebook channels throughout a full term of parliament. Such an analysis provides a more comprehensive understanding of the character and dynamics of conversations that take place in such arenas.
This article analyzes social media presence of all parties, leaders, and candidates (PLCs) during Israel’s 2015 electoral campaign, within a transformational era for online campaigns. The article adheres to the theoretical frameworks of normalisation/equalisation hypotheses and personalised politics. Its research design is based on a cross-platform analysis. Findings indicate not only a centralised personalisation trend but rather a depersonalised web sphere. Leaders are more prominent online compared to other candidates; and parties out-perform their leaders, too. Furthermore, findings point to a normalised web sphere, even when referring to new and trendy platforms, revealing that the chances of political newcomers entering the parliamentary arena are scarce.
Digital personal data could be used in different ways to administrate populations, as in the case of commercial exploitation and surveillance to regulate individuals’ preferences and behavior. In that sense, this article questions whether accountability can transform this kind of usage in two fronts: (a) to guarantee a certain degree of privacy and individual autonomy, and, (b) to replenish the asymmetries of power between personal data subjects and data processors. In order to do so, we analyze the accountability of personal data in three domains at European Level: state-rooted regulations, market principles, and civic agency strategies. The conclusion explores new forms to redefine the use of personal data through the production, consumption, and control of this information, analyzing the limits and potentials of accountability in each domain.
Internet mengubah kehidupan manusia, termasuk dalam berdemokrasi. Namun, di Indonesia yang mayoritas penduduknya miskin, internet masih dianggap barang mahal meskipun jika ditinjau dari teori layanan publik internet seharusnya disediakan oleh negara secara gratis. Akibatnya, akses warga dibatasi oleh modal, sarana, dan kewenangan pengelolaan frekuensi. Tulisan ini mendiskusikan politik internet di Indonesia, khususnya bagaimana teori dan konsep demokrasi dalam hubungannya dengan praktek berinternet. Pembahasan menitikberatkan pada dua bidang yakni politik (melalui studi kasus Rebelnet) dan ekonomi (melalui studi kasus internet dan kemunculan kelas menengah Indonesia).
Das Internet und die sozialen Medien haben nicht nur die Kanäle politischer Kommunikation vervielfacht, sondern zugleich die Art der Kommunikation und damit auch die Interaktionsmöglichkeiten zwischen politischen Akteuren, gesellschaftlichen Gruppen und Bürgern erheblich verändert. Dieser Beitrag nimmt zunächst Begriffsklärungen vor in diesem überaus dynamischen und unübersichtlichen Feld, legt die zentralen normativen Zugänge und theoretischen Konzepte dar und greift einige empirische Befunde und Betätigungsfelder auf. Zudem wird auf die Rolle digitaler Medien in Autokratien eingegangen. Das letzte Kapitel schließlich zeigt die beträchtlichen Forschungsdesiderate und ebenso großen Forschungs perspektiven auf, die diesem jungen Thema innewohnen.
Das Internet und die sozialen Medien haben nicht nur die Kanäle politischer Kommunikation vervielfacht, sondern zugleich die Art der Kommunikation und damit auch die Interaktionsmöglichkeiten zwischen politischen Akteuren, gesellschaftlichen Gruppen und Bürgern erheblich verändert. Dieser Beitrag nimmt zunächst Begriffsklärungen vor in diesem überaus dynamischen und unübersichtlichen Feld, legt die zentralen normativen Zugänge und theoretischen Konzepte dar und greift einige empirische Befunde und Betätigungsfelder auf. Zudem wird auf die Rolle digitaler Medien in Autokratien eingegangen. Das letzte Kapitel schließlich zeigt die beträchtlichen Forschungsdesiderate und ebenso großen Forschungs perspektiven auf, die diesem jungen Thema innewohnen.
This chapter presents a survey study on attitudes towards political campaigning in social media. During the national election in Sweden in 2010, a considerable amount of resources was invested in online communication with the constituency, not least in social media. Whereas several studies have focused on e-democracy at a macro level, there is a lack of studies examining the phenomenon of campaigning 2.0 as it is perceived by the actual voters. This chapter, therefore, asks the question whether the voters noticed the political campaigning in social media at all, and if so, how they perceived it. The main findings are that respondents who were already interested and politically engaged considered campaigning 2.0, in line with the politicians' rhetoric, as a way to enhance democracy. Respondents who were neither interested nor engaged in politics, on the other hand, showed little interest in this kind of communication. Consequently, the study confirms assumptions about digital divide and continued fragmentation of the citizenry.
With the popularization of global e-learning, built on unprecedented information technology (IT) connectivity and content distribution via the WWW and Internet, instructors have a responsibility to use these resources to build savvy learners who are also responsible global citizens. The Web acclimates and acculturates individuals into a global culture haphazardly. A more purposive learning approach may more constructively promote the long-held goal of liberation-based learning. A more pro-social state-of-being may be realized with designed e-learning assignments that promote learner empathy, reveal the limits of human nature, and provide supports for initial steps towards social equality. This then provides a model for online learning assignment design with an eye towards transformation and liberation. Given the broad diversity of cultural approaches to the concepts of liberation, this chapter will take a non-model-specific approach to this concept.
Participation is the cornerstone of our governance process and has manifested in a variety of constructs since the inception of our government. As public agencies and political leaders discover the possibilities offered by technological mediums, the question becomes, what kind of participation should we be fostering and what do we hope to gain through participative processes? The opportunities to enhance our understanding and approach to democracy have grown tremendously in the past decade. Through technological means, more individuals can gain access to public dialogue and discourse. Given the nature of recent technological opportunities, public leaders are considering the possibilities of e-governance and within that framework, e-participation. This chapter provides a definition and discussion of three e-participation models: information exchange, general discourse, and deliberation. In addition, the chapter will address the issues, characterizations, and criteria that are closely related to the development of electronic participation in the governance process.
With the trends in the use of social software and social media, a more informal and democratic online culture is developing, especially in younger generations. This culture is increasingly conflicting with traditional teaching styles. One of these trends involves the introduction of more democratic and participatory interaction styles in daily activities, online and for larger communities. E-democracy tools and methods could be an important means to facilitate e-democracy in traditional education. However, e-democracy poses a number of challenges, which require careful consideration when implementing a democratic process. One of the disciplines that can offer solutions to these challenges is the facilitation of group and collaboration processes with the use of Group Support Systems. A recent development in this area of research is the use of design patterns to document techniques for collaboration. In this paper we present a set of design patterns for the facilitation of e-democracy, that can be used in traditional education.
IFTEEN MINUTES INTO THE PERIOD a young man I will call Santo was embroiled in his poster project, working on the assignment for the day -to reflect on his essay writing process. Lucretia (a pseudonym for his classmate), who self identified as Black, female, and self-confident, walked into the room, leaned over to sign the late book next to the front door, and moved across the room to take a seat at our table -back row, middle aisle, alongside Santo, and across from me, a White, female graduate student, and former teacher. Lucretia's hair was pulled back to reveal two quarter-sized guitar earrings. She was wearing them with a lime green pearl necklace atop a brighter lime shirt under a turquoise hooded sweatshirt and corduroy cream tailored suit coat. Santo, also fifteen, and half-Dominican half-Ecuadorian wore a large, white IZOD polo shirt over baggy, faded blue jeans. His dark wavy hair was gelled back, revealing his girlfriend's leather necklace.
Political election campaigns often function as test sites for new communication technologies and strategies. Prior to the Swedish national election 2010, the Swedish public was dominated by a discourse on the revolutionising potential of new media for political campaigning and restyling of democracy. In particular, the participatory potential of social media was celebrated. 'Confronting' the main claims of prominent Swedish social media handbooks with the perceptions of one important voter segment, namely students, this paper aims to present major contradictions characterising the present discourse on democracy 2.0 showing a tremendous gap between the potential voters and their actual practices.
The need of civility in the public sphere and the emergence of a brutish me-centeredness in blogging are discussed. Blaming the technology for the dubious and deviant infantile, information and communication technologies have countless unindented, second order effects. In the blogosphere, the most mundane and intimate elements of individual's private lives are spilling like effluent into the public sphere. The biliousness and rebartiveness that one encounters in the slum dwellings of the blogosphere are, ultimately, damaging to the social and institutional fabric of the society.
The growth of the internet has been accompanied by a profound academic interest in its gendered features and contexts. This chapter first discusses how studies of the relationship between gender and the internet have been articulated through the use of two conceptions of gender common within a feminist theoretical framework: "gender as identity" and "gender as social structure". Yet, as we will demonstrate, studies in these domains often have gender-essentialist and technological-determinist tendencies and ignore the positioned and embodied everyday interactions with internet technologies. We therefore continue with an assessment of approaches that counter essentialism and determinism by focusing on the mutual shaping of gender and technology in situated practices and spaces. We conclude by discussing whether the current prevalence of user-generated content referred to as web 2.0 raises new questions for research about gender and the internet.
The internet has been expected to modify the very nature of the political discourse by delivering a democratic surplus. It has frequently been regarded as the medium though which the right balance between participation and representation can be achieved. The vary nature of the medium has generated great levels of interest and debate on what type of political activity could be performed online. This paper studies the heuristics of online participation in Ireland and, by addressing the issue of who participates online, it investigates the type of scenario that can be expected to develop in the near future. Using survey data from the Irish National Election Study 2007, this article offers an insight on the process of gathering politically relevant information online and on whether such an activity may lead to further political engagement. Evidence of quite limited but possibly escalating forms of online engagement is found.
Relations between the public and holders of political authority are in a period of transformative flux. On the one side, new expectations and meanings of citizenship are being entertained and occasionally acted upon. On the other, an inexorable impoverishment of mainstream political communication is taking place. The Internet has the potential to improve public communications and enrich democracy, a project that requires imaginative policy-making. This argument is developed through three stages: first exploring the theoretical foundations for renewing democratic citizenship, then examining practical case studies of e-democracy, and finally, reviewing the limitations of recent policies designed to promote e-democracy and setting out a radical, but practical proposal for an online civic commons: a trusted public space where the dispersed energies, self-articulations and aspirations of citizens can be rehearsed, in public, within a process of ongoing feedback to the various levels and centers of governance: local, national and transnational.
This article explains the US foreign policy discourse surrounding human rights, democracy and the Internet as the pursuit of “technological closure” for the network. US policymakers draw upon international norms and values to construct a symbolically powerful argument regarding the valid material composition of the Internet. Through these arguments, the US creates a narrative that casts its vision for the Internet as moral, just and progressive. In contrast, opponents of the American vision of the Internet are cast as backward states impeding the flow of history. In the process, the contested nature of the technology and its contingent nature are sidelined, naturalizing and reifying its historically and culturally specific evolution, to the benefit of American foreign policy aims. I will outline the politics of identity construction, and the meaning attached to the technological structure of the Internet, as central to the ongoing contestation over its form. Finally, I will note how the narrative created by US foreign policymakers legitimizes their material practice of supporting anticensorship technologies.
Research on virtual communities has been dominated by the question of whether online communities can be designed in ways that allow them to match the accomplishments of off-line communities. The answer, at least according to several leading students of virtual communities, is that human relations in
From the Publisher:Can our system adapt to the new form of democracy forming via the electronic age? Will the new communication age usher in a nation governed not by professional politicians but by citizens themselves? Grossman answers these questions and many others clearly and provocatively as he brings the features of our rapidly changing political environment into focus.
Move over "soccer moms" and "angry white males," the Wired/Merrill Lynch Forum survey reveals that the new bellwether is ...The Digital Citizen Since 1992, as a writer for both Wired and its online cousin HotWired, I have been tracking the emergence of a new political ethos that I have seen developing in cyberspace. Over the years, as I explored the Web and exchanged email with countless people all over the world, I felt I was witnessing the birth of a new political sensibility that lies beyond the tired rhetorical combat of Democrats and Republicans. In April of this year, I sketched the outlines of this sensibility in an essay called "Birth of a Digital Nation" (see Wired 5.04, page 49). In that article, I described the primordial stirrings of a new "postpolitical" community that blends the humanism of liberalism with the economic vitality of conservatism. I wrote that members of this group consistently reject both the interventionist dogma of the left and the intolerant ideology of the right. Instead, I argued, Digital Citizens embrace rationalism, revere civil liberties and free-market economics, and gravitate toward a moderated form of libertarianism. But without real leaders or a clearly defined agenda, I remarked, they seemed unable to channel their abundant energy and knowledge in meaningful directions. "Can we build a new kind of kind of politics?" I asked. "Can we construct a more civil society with our powerful technologies? Are we extending the evolution of freedom among human beings? Or are we nothing more than a great, wired babble pissing into the digital wind?" These ideas triggered an electronic outpouring, as thousands of Internet users responded to the article by emailing me. Representatives of both major political parties, media organizations, and corporate and educational groups offered me piles of money to speak to them about this emerging consciousness. Yet I declined all these offers because I saw the "Birth of a Digital Nation" piece as merely a signpost pointing toward the early stirrings of a nascent political community. The article reflected my own observations, but I couldn't really confirm that those observations were true.
Katz, J. The digital citizen
- J Katz
- Katz J.