An Essay on the Potential of the Internet

Revolutionary Medium

The Internet is the newest medium in which people can attain information. More people are getting their daily news from the internet instead of other mediums, such as newspapers and television. Those who use the internet have access to vast amounts of information. Unlike television, the internet allows users the ability to search for what they want, instead of limiting them to what is on it at any specific time. The internet allows its users to engage in conversation and political debate, a feature the television and the newspaper do not offer. The internet does not undermine political participation; it takes participation to the next level by allowing people from all types of backgrounds to engage in political discussion through weblogs and online forums.

The internet is the only media source that allows regular people to discuss any type of issue. Anyone can get online and discuss current events through forums, discussion boards, and weblogs. Online forums give citizens who want to have a greater participation in politics the ability to do so. They can contribute more than just their vote by participating in online discussions on any news network websites. People can give their opinions, anonymously or not, on websites that potentially hundreds or even thousands of people will read.

Watching television and reading printed newspaper do not permit people to voice their opinion. These forms of media decide what they are going to report, giving the people receiving the news little choice in what they learn. People attaining their information on the internet are able to choose what they view. Additionally, they are able to discuss what they have just viewed, depending on which website hosted the news. A survey, conducted by Annenberg School for Communication, showed that eighty percent of internet users age seventeen and older considered the internet to be an important source of information. Television, radio, and printed newspapers polled at sixty-eight percent or less (Annenberg 2008 Report 84).

Internet usage invites civic engagement. Users can access the internet at any time during the day. Newspapers update only once a day and television does not consistently report news throughout the day. News usually reports on television in the mornings and throughout the evening. Twenty-one percent of people surveyed in the Annenberg 2008 Report say they have cancelled newspaper subscription because they receive the same content online (79). This statistic shows that the same information in printed newspapers is available online, making the newspaper less valuable. The internet helps people to become informed about political issues because it forces users to become more literate; internet increases the likelihood of voting (Mossberger 27).

Weblogs are an effective method to publish ones views. Creating a weblog is a simple and free process, which allows its authors to publish anything they would like to write (Shirkey 40). Weblogs can be used to express political views, to discuss class projects, or even to tell the readers about ones weekend. Clay Shirkey claims that bloggers are more successful when they post weblogs for their friends to read instead of posting the same blog designed for the public to read. He asserts that having friends read the submission gives the feeling of a conversation. Weblogs take political participation to the next level by allowing the user to do more than just take in knowledge; it lets them express feelings and opinions as well.

Current.com is a perfect example of how the internet allows its users to engage in politics through this new medium. The viewers run the site; it is up to them to post the stories that are then voted on by the rest of the Current community. These votes decide what stories are most pertinent and worthy of viewing which helps to keep the quality of material viewed up. After the stories are submitted, people can choose to view them and even participate in discussions about them. This site promotes regular people to be journalists, which allow the material to cover anything newsworthy. Brazen Pantic claims that professional journalists are paid to cover what sells, which could lead to important stories being left out of the media because they are not sensational enough (57). Current journalists have no personal agenda; what sells has no relevance because they are not paid by how many views they receive. This ensures Current users will cover any newsworthy topic, even if it is not popular.

Many other websites share the same concept. Facebook groups allow users to discuss practically any topic. Youtube permits people to discuss videos. These sites share the concept of discussion that Current has, allowing its viewers to give their opinions, which could eliminate biases because any view can be voiced. The viewers engage in conversation with each other, which allows them to debate what is being viewed.

Search engines can be a valuable resource when researching virtually any topic. Some would argue that the information found using search engines are inaccurate and unreliable. It is true that some informational sites are unreliable sources, but it is easy to sort out the accurate from the inaccurate. Little additional research about the viability of the information can deem the source reliable or not. In order for people to effectively use the internet, they need to sort out the bad information from the good.

Online forums and weblogs connect people across the country. People, that were previously unable to, can now engage in conversation (Payne). This enables people with vastly different lives to talk with one-another, an ability that is not easy to do without the internet. This is important because this is a way for Americans to connect across the country. It allows Democrats to unite with fellow Democrats, and Republicans to unite with fellow Republicans. It also creates a place where people can debate topics that they would not normally be able to debate.

The internet provides a more in depth coverage of events than any other form of media. News programs often advise their viewers to seek additional information on their website when they are unable to cover every aspect of a story on the air. News shows are given an allocated amount of time and are not always able to cover every current event in the designated time. If a person is watching the news and wants a greater understanding of a topic, it would be more time consuming waiting for the topic to come on the air than to go online to seek the information. The television can be a quick way of getting current events, but the internet is a far superior source for receiving the full story.

Television stations can have a biased analysis of the news. Some television stations do not give both sides to important issues, this can be remedied by going online to receive other opinions on the same issue. Manuel Castells suggests that media politics create scandal politics, claiming that “negative messages are much more effective than positive messages” (142). I agree with this statement, I would rather receive news that has actual meaning. This type of news can be found on the internet when the media is reporting scandal politics, unbiased news has to be sought out.
Technology is formed around the needs of the people who use it (Castells 136). The internet improves civic engagement by giving the people a new medium in which to communicate. The internet has the same capabilities the television and newspaper with the additional ability to discuss the news country and worldwide. If this did not attribute to our needs, it would be a fad and would have died out. The fact is, forums and weblogs are revolutionary methods of conveying personal opinion. The internet invites political participation by offering more ways for the user to participate in politics.



Works Cited

Annenberg 2008 Report: Annual Internet Survey by the Center for the Digital Future. Annenberg School for Communication. 2008. 73-84.

Castells, Manuel. The Network Society: From Knowledge to Policy. Washington DC: Center for Transatlantic Relations. 135-146.

Mossberger, Karen, Caroline Tolbert, and Ramona McNeal. Digital Citizenship. Cambridge: The MIT Press. 25-34.

Pantic, Drazen. “Anybody Can Be TV.” Reformatting Politics. Ed. Jon Anderson. New York: Taylor and Francis Group, 2006. 55-66.

Payne, Will. Lecture. UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz. 25 Apr. 2008.

Shirkey, Clay. “Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality.” Reformatting Politics. Ed. Jon Anderson. New York: Taylor and Francis Group, 2006. 35-42.