How the internet works as political space and also a political sphere is the topic of this week’s reading. In simple terms this article is about how the internet works as a forum for people from all over the world to get together, discuss and exchange political ideas.
“connectivity does not ensure a more representative and robust public sphere” (Papacharissi, 2002, p. 13) “access to more information does not necessarily create more informed citizens” (Papacharissi, 2002, p. 15) I have chosen these two quotes because I think they sum up the argument Papacharissi is trying to make. She acknowledges the fact that the internet has given humanity (humanity meaning the 28.7% of the world’s population (internet world stats, 2010)) an extra and more accessible political space but criticises the internet heavily for not being a political sphere. To assert this claim Papacharissi cites the irrational/radical special interest groups that are out there, white supremacist groups and the like. She also turns her attention to capitalism as being detrimental to the internet as a political sphere
The recent events in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya etc and now in Croatia I think demonstrates the ability of the internet to mobilise large amounts of people to engage in democratic practises. Although I am not suggesting the only reason it happened was because of the internet but I do believe it had a massive impact on the speed of the revolutions and for those revolutionary ideas to spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East.
Bibliography
Internet world stats, viewed 4th April 2011, http://www.internetworldstats.com/
Papacharissi, Z., 2002, The virtual sphere: The internet as a public sphere, New Media and Society, Vol 4, No. 1, pp. 9-24.
No comments:
Post a Comment