Internet Impact on Politics.docx
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Internet Impact on Politics.docx
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InternetImpactonPolitics
InternetImpactonPolitics
Name:
李纪为
Course:
ComparativeGovernmentandPolitics(当代西方国家政治制度)
Instructor:
唐晓
Abstract
Itwasacknowledgedthat“theprintingpressisthemostpowerfulweaponwithwhichmanhaseverarmedhimself.”However,inanerawhenelectronicmediaprevail,theInternet,graduallygainingitspopularizationovertraditionalmedialiketheprintingpress,hasplayedanincreasinglycrucialroleinthepoliticalarena.Inthispaper,Iamgoingtofirstlyanalyzetheroleofmedia,eithertraditionalonesornovelones,inpolitics.Secondly,IwillbrieflyintroducetheprerequisitesofdevelopingInternetasapoliticaltoolanditsadvantagesovertraditionalmedialikenewspapers,magazinesorradiosandtelevisions.Thirdly,theissueofhowInternetformsorshapessocialnormsandpoliticalopinionswillbefurtherdiscussedwhichmayleadustoruminateonthetangibleharmsbroughtbytheInternet.Withthesediscussions,IhopetoofferamorecomprehensiveperspectivewithregardtotheroleofInternetincontemporarypolitics.
Introduction
InthewordsofWalterLippmann:
“ManisnoAristoteliangodcontemplatingallexistenceatonceglance.He……hasinventedwaysofseeingwhatnonakedeyecouldsee,ofhearingwhatnoearcouldhear,ofweighingimmensemassesandinfinitesimalones,ofcountingandseparatingmoreitemsthanhecanindividuallyremember.”
SinceInternetcameintobeinginthelastcentury,publicopinionsontheInternethavereshapedthewaymediafunctionsinpolitics.Inthenationswhereeconomyboomsanddigitaltechnologyrapidlydevelops,theInternethasaconsolidatedbasisofuserswhoare,tocertainextent,well-educatedandpoliticallyconscious.TheInternetprovidespeoplewithaplatform,straddlinggeographicalboundariesandtimelimits,tointeractwitheachother,whichpromotetransparencyinpoliticsandurgespolicy-makerstotakeintoaccountthebenefitsofdifferentinterestgroups.
However,cantheInternetfulfillitsroleinrevealingtruths,meetingthedemandsforpublicmedia?
Willitbeabusedbysomeactiviststoadvocatetheirpropagandas?
HowcanwefullyprotectandproperlyutilizethefreedomofspeechontheInternetinordertomakeuseofitontherighttrack?
TherearemanyquestionsyettobeansweredwhenitcomestotheInternet,solet’strytolookintosomeofthemand,hopefully,developaclearoverviewoftheInternetaswellasitsinfluenceoncontemporarypolitics.
PartOne:
TheRoleofMedia
Theancestorofmassmediacanbetracedbacktoakindofspokeninformationspreadoverasmallgroupofpeople.Astimewentbyandtheprintingtechnologycameintobeing,theinformationwerecompactedintobriefarticlesandprintedoutanddistributedtoalargernumberofpeople.Lateronwhenradioandtelevisionprevailedinthesociety,themediahasbeenevenmorediversifiedandofferedpeoplemorealternativesbesidesprintingpress.Togetherwiththeprogressofliteracyincommonalities,massmediahaspositioneditselfasoneofthemostimportantinstrumentstoshapepublicopinionsandbeliefs,changehabitsoflife,activelymoldbehaviorandimposepoliticalsystemsevenagainstreluctance.Insomeextremecases,peopleconsideredmassmediaasideologicalweaponscontrolledormanipulatedbygovernments,eveninthemostdemocraticcountries.Bytakingadvantageofthetraditional,single-dimensional,one-directionmediasuchasnewspapersormagazines,authoritiesareabletoprovideaconsistentandplausiblepictureofthesocialworldwhichprobablyleadstheaudiencetoadoptacertainversionof“reality”becausethereceivershavenoothersourcesofinformationtocompareto.
However,awakeningsocialandpoliticalconsciousnessandboomingeconomicstatushaveconferredonmediaanotherparamountfunction.Lessrelianceongovernmentsubsidies,decreasingsupervisionanddecentralizedcontrolhavegrantedmediatheprerogativetofosterdemocraticgovernance,guardagainstabusesofpowerbygovernmentofficialsandmonitorgovernmentbehaviors.TaketheshutdownoftheUSgovernmentin2013asanexample.Thenewsofgovernmentshutdownalmoststroketheheadlineofvirtuallyeverymedium,rangingfromprintingpresstoonlinenewsmedia.TheonlineversionofWashingtonPostupdateditsreportontheever-changingconditionoftheshutdowneveryfewminutes,mainlyfocusingontheattitudesofDemocratsandRepublicansaswellassomepublicappeals.Thevoicesonthemedia,ormorespecifically,ontheInternetpropelledtwopartiestoacceleratetheirnegotiationsandreachanagreementassoonaspossible.Now,let’sturnourattentiontoanothercaseofEdwardSnowdenwhoexposedAmerica’ssurveillanceactivitiestothepublic.Newsrelatedtotheexposure,publicopinioncriticizingtheUSgovernmentstuffedtheInternet,puttingthegovernmentinanawkwardsituation,drivingthemtoreexaminetheirsurveillanceprogramsandotherpoliticalactions.Media,indeed,enhancetransparencyofgovernmentbehaviorandurgeauthoritiestotakepublicvoicesintoconsideration.
ImainlydiscussthespreadofinformationontheInternetinthetwocasesabove,hopingtobringtolightmydiscussionoftheInternetinthispaper.Theroleofmedia,especiallyfortheInternet,shouldbethemouthpieceoftruth,therepresentativeofpublicaspirationsandthewatchdogofthegovernments.
PartTwo:
Internetasapoliticaltool
Borninthe1960s,theInternethasrapidlyfoughtitswaytothemostprevalentformsofmediaintheworldduetoitsconspicuousadvantages.ItriedtoexaminesomeprerequisitesunderlyingthepopularizationoftheInternetandfiguredthattheycanbegeneralizedinthefollowingfewaspects.Firstandforemost,theadventofnewtechnologieswithwhichpeoplecangetaccesstotheInternetconsolidatestheunreplaceablepositionofInternetincurrentpolitics.Personalcomputers,laptopsandevensmartphonescanbeusedasawaytothesurftheInternet.PeopleathomeoroncommutingtrainsoratworkareabletoreadaboutthelatestnewsontheInternetwiththeirstationedorportableelectronicdevices,thusguaranteeingthatpeopleareinthewebofnationaloreventrans-nationalinformationandinteraction.Secondly,improvededucationhascontributedtomassliteracyofpeopleinmost,ifnotall,countrieswhichsupportsthewideapplicationoftheInternet.Andowingtothesomewhatsimpleandcolloquialwordsandexpressionsusedbyonlinemedia,Internetuserstendtogainbetterunderstandingofthenewsreportsoronlinediscussions,involvingvicariouslyinawiderrangeofexperiencecomparedtothenarrowrangeofreal-lifeexperience.Thirdly,variousformsofinformationdelivery,includingscripts,photos,videosetc.attractspeople’sattention.OneofthemanyreasonswhytheInternetprevailsisthatitdiversifiesthepathsthroughwhichpeopleareinformed.
Giventhesereasons,theprevalenceoftheInternetseemstobeinevitable.Andaccordingtothestatusquoinmanycountries,theInternethasfaroutweighedtraditionalmedialikenewspapersormagazinesinitsinfluenceonpolitics.Next,IwilltrytoexplainwhatkindsofadvantagesguaranteesthesuccessoftheInternet.
Ononehand,operatingwebsitesrequireslowercostthanprintingmediaandespeciallymedialikeradiosandtelevisions.Littletrade-offsofhumanlaborgrantsthewebsitesmorefreedomandflexibilityinnewsreporting.ProductionsimplicityandlowcostsmaketheInternetthebestpopulistmediumnowadays.ItisalsoduetothefactthatInternetoperationcostslessthattheInternetcoversawiderrangeofinformation.Let’scomparenewspaperswiththeInternet.Newspapereditorstakemoreelementsintoaccountinordertomaintainreadership.Inthis,Iwouldliketoputforthanideaofcongruence,whichbasicallymeansreadershipofonekindofnewspaperinacertainarea.Toenhancecongruence,editorshavetoensurethatthereportsincludedintheirnewspapersattractasmanyreadersaspossible,thusleavingoutsomeotherinformationlessrelatedtothelocals.Forinstance,SouthernMetropolisDailywhichmainlyaimsatcoveringcitizensinGuangdongprovincetendstoreportmorenewseventshappenedinGuangdongwhileBeijingEveningNewsfocusesmoreoneventstookplaceinBeijing.Therefore,IconcludethattraditionalmedialikenewspapersaremorelocalizedthantheInternet,whichappearstobebroaderorcosmopolitan.SuchfeaturesoftheInternetconsolidatesitsessentialroleinpolitics.
Ontheotherhand,theInternetismoreinteractivethantraditionalmedia.Traditionalmediatendtobeone-direction,whichmeanstheyaremoreofeditor-orientedthanreader-oriented.Readerstrytoaccepttheideaseditorsputforthintheirarticlesbecausetherearenoothercompetinginformationorperspectivesforthem.Inthissense,publicopinionsaresomewhatoppressed.However,theInternetturnsouttobedifferent.Blogs,onlineforums,newsgroupsetc.servesastrans-nationalplatformsstraddlingtime-zones,offeringpossibilitiesforpeoplefromdifferentnationstocommunicateandargue.Thosewhopopulatethevariousdiscussionspacesinwhichpoliticaltalksoccuraregeographicallydisparate,butthroughtheInternettheycantalkdirectlytoeachotherinvirtuespaces.Moreover,suchdiversityinvitesthepossibilitythattheirphysicalenvironmentscontributetodifferencesinperceivedimportanceofissuesorknowledgeonpoliticalmatters.Therefore,awiderangeofideologicalperspectivesvoicedontheInternetwillcontributetohigherqualitiesofpoliticaldiscussions.ThesetworeasonsmainlyconstructInternet’sadvantageovertraditionalmedia.
Evers
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