Internet Influence On Democracy

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As citizens of the U.S., we have an obligation to become informed about public issues, to carefully observe our political leaders and representatives use their powers, and to express our own opinions and interests. We the people have a right to use the internet. However, does the internet have a positive or negative influence on a democracy? For today, it certainly is not positive (it is flawed and messy), but I would not classify it as seriously negative either. This is not to say that that will not change. I think that the internet has the ability to become a very bad influence on our democracy.

On the surface, the internet seems to be a great influence. However, you have to go deeper. Nearly everyone that I have found to believe that the internet is a good influence have stood behind at least one of these six key reasons:

1. The Internet lowers the entry barriers to political participation.
2. It strengthens political dialogue.
3. It creates community.
4. It cannot be controlled by government.
5. It increases voting participation.
6. It permits closer communication with officials.

Sounds pretty good right? Well, unfortunately, not all of those points are in sync with reality and others don’t take into account the future.
1.) The Internet lowers the entry barriers to political participation.
While the internet is lowering the entry barriers to political participation today, it will not be long before it makes make politics more expensive, thus further raising the entry barriers. How does this work? Think about the internet right now. Anyone can say anything. That is great everyone has a voice. right? For now it is. As time goes by all of those “voices” start to pile up. It is just a sloppy mess. When everyone can sp...

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...nger have to physically wait in line to vote, because they can just vote online, voter turnout might increase. This I would have to agree with. However, electronic voting posses other issues. For one, the civic engagement of voting is eliminated, but that is not the most serious issue. With the greater ease and anonymity of voting, a market for votes is unavoidable.

6.) It permits closer communication with officials.

Everyday more people are jumping on the internet. While it was easier and very effective to communicate with officials a several years ago, as more people join the internet, it becomes impossible for officials to respond to every email, message, or comment. It will only get worse, soon it will just be assistants and aids that reply on the official’s behalf. Other than the fact that it is faster, how is that any better than just writing a letter?

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