According to the Bing Dictionary democracy is the "free and equal representation of people: the free and equal right of every person to participate in a system of government, often practiced by electing representatives of the people by the majority of the people." At first glance the internet should be the perfect democratic tool. It offers the equal right for people to participate in searching, evaluating, and sharing its content. According to Saskia Sassen, when we have openness and choice we get more democratic out comes (Sassen, S., 2006). This is not necessarily what happens on the internet. Information is not evenly distributed. Sassen's "power law distribution" shows that the internet is survival of the fittest. In the Blog-sphere there are blogs that have huge followings. They can only respond to selected comments like with a letter to the editor. Small blogs such as the one I am typing will be shared by a small group of people but the discussions and feedback can be more intimate and significant.
Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace,Blogger, Photolog, and Instagram are changing how we react with one another. These social network sites or SNSs are allowing people to connect with others, share information, exchange ideas, create social movements, make websites for discussions about elections, inform people about their local communities, find sources of information for news media, and also connect people to powerful learning tools (Recuero, R. 2012). Used correctly SNSs can be used to cross cultural divides. Positive feedback and discussion can evolve ideas very quickly into useful information. Within the democratic sphere they can use debate, deliberation, consultation, decision-making, administration, scrutiny, online mobilization, organizing, petitioning, polling, and protesting to promote political interests (Kann, M. 2005).
So is the internet democratic? At first glance I say yes. Or at least it has the potential to be. Through further scrutinization we find there are many flaws that need to be worked out (much like our own democratic system). People who add political content such as civic volunteers, amateur participants and the populist majority, tend to add uninformed, intolerant, and materialistic evidence (Kann, M. 2005). The reason we use an electoral college is that when the country was founded many people were uninformed. That is why we have representatives who vote on our behalf. In this day in age it is easier to gain access to information, but it is very important that the information we get is as true as possible. Social networks are famous for spreading misinformation at the speed of light. There is too much data and we have to be able to filter through it.
There is also a dark side of social media that we have to be aware of. There are privacy issues. Anyone can gain access to personal information, use your likeness, steal your ideas, and even your identity. There is also a fair share of bullying that takes place. People with opposing views often revert to a discourse of violence (Recuero, R. 2012). Many people do not participate in discussions because of fear that they will be criticized. There are also many prejudices that exist. Although SNSs did not create these issues they do expose them. Hopefully with time people will think more critically about what they say and keep an open mind to what others think.
The internet and social media are here to stay. The majority of users of these networks were self-taught. If we want to see them being used appropriately and advantageously we need to start teaching our students young. As of now most schools block the use of these sites not wanting to be responsible for how they are used. The more reasonable thing to do is teach them how to operate them ethically. That means keeping open to opposing views and learning through discourse. And remember to always tweet others as you would like to be tweeted....
References
Kann, M. (2005). More or Less Democracy in the Internet Age? Networked Publics. Retrieved from http://networkedpublics.org/digital_democracy/more_or_less_democracy_in_the_internet_age
Recuero, R. (2012). Digital Youth, Social Movements, and Democracy in Brazil. Connected Learning. Retrieved from http://connectedlearning.tv/raquel-recuero-digital-youth-social-movements-and-democracy-brazil
Sassen, S. (2006). Networks, Power, and Democracy. Networked Publics. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpw1GpHzAbc&feature=youtu.be
