1、Internet Impact on PoliticsInternet Impact on PoliticsName: 李纪为Course: Comparative Government and Politics（当代西方国家政治制度）Instructor: 唐晓AbstractIt was acknowledged that “the printing press is the most powerful weapon with which man has ever armed himself.” However, in an era when electronic media prevai
2、l, the Internet, gradually gaining its popularization over traditional media like the printing press, has played an increasingly crucial role in the political arena. In this paper, I am going to firstly analyze the role of media, either traditional ones or novel ones, in politics. Secondly, I will b
3、riefly introduce the prerequisites of developing Internet as a political tool and its advantages over traditional media like newspapers, magazines or radios and televisions. Thirdly, the issue of how Internet forms or shapes social norms and political opinions will be further discussed which may lea
4、d us to ruminate on the tangible harms brought by the Internet. With these discussions, I hope to offer a more comprehensive perspective with regard to the role of Internet in contemporary politics.IntroductionIn the words of Walter Lippmann:“Man is no Aristotelian god contemplating all existence at
5、 once glance. Hehas invented ways of seeing what no naked eye could see, of hearing what no ear could hear, of weighing immense masses and infinitesimal ones, of counting and separating more items than he can individually remember.”Since Internet came into being in the last century, public opinions
6、on the Internet have reshaped the way media functions in politics. In the nations where economy booms and digital technology rapidly develops, the Internet has a consolidated basis of users who are, to certain extent, well-educated and politically conscious. The Internet provides people with a platf
7、orm, straddling geographical boundaries and time limits, to interact with each other, which promote transparency in politics and urges policy-makers to take into account the benefits of different interest groups. However, can the Internet fulfill its role in revealing truths, meeting the demands for
8、 public media? Will it be abused by some activists to advocate their propagandas? How can we fully protect and properly utilize the freedom of speech on the Internet in order to make use of it on the right track? There are many questions yet to be answered when it comes to the Internet, so lets try
9、to look into some of them and, hopefully, develop a clear overview of the Internet as well as its influence on contemporary politics.Part One: The Role of MediaThe ancestor of mass media can be traced back to a kind of spoken information spread over a small group of people. As time went by and the p
10、rinting technology came into being, the information were compacted into brief articles and printed out and distributed to a larger number of people. Later on when radio and television prevailed in the society, the media has been even more diversified and offered people more alternatives besides prin
11、ting press. Together with the progress of literacy in commonalities, mass media has positioned itself as one of the most important instruments to shape public opinions and beliefs, change habits of life, actively mold behavior and impose political systems even against reluctance. In some extreme cas
12、es, people considered mass media as ideological weapons controlled or manipulated by governments, even in the most democratic countries. By taking advantage of the traditional, single-dimensional, one-direction media such as newspapers or magazines, authorities are able to provide a consistent and p
13、lausible picture of the social world which probably leads the audience to adopt a certain version of “reality” because the receivers have no other sources of information to compare to. However, awakening social and political consciousness and booming economic status have conferred on media another p
14、aramount function. Less reliance on government subsidies, decreasing supervision and decentralized control have granted media the prerogative to foster democratic governance, guard against abuses of power by government officials and monitor government behaviors. Take the shutdown of the US governmen
15、t in 2013 as an example. The news of government shutdown almost stroke the headline of virtually every medium, ranging from printing press to online news media. The online version of Washington Post updated its report on the ever-changing condition of the shutdown every few minutes, mainly focusing
16、on the attitudes of Democrats and Republicans as well as some public appeals. The voices on the media, or more specifically, on the Internet propelled two parties to accelerate their negotiations and reach an agreement as soon as possible. Now, lets turn our attention to another case of Edward Snowd
17、en who exposed Americas surveillance activities to the public. News related to the exposure, public opinion criticizing the US government stuffed the Internet, putting the government in an awkward situation, driving them to reexamine their surveillance programs and other political actions. Media, in
18、deed, enhance transparency of government behavior and urge authorities to take public voices into consideration. I mainly discuss the spread of information on the Internet in the two cases above, hoping to bring to light my discussion of the Internet in this paper. The role of media, especially for
19、the Internet, should be the mouthpiece of truth, the representative of public aspirations and the watchdog of the governments. Part Two: Internet as a political toolBorn in the 1960s, the Internet has rapidly fought its way to the most prevalent forms of media in the world due to its conspicuous adv
20、antages. I tried to examine some prerequisites underlying the popularization of the Internet and figured that they can be generalized in the following few aspects. First and foremost, the advent of new technologies with which people can get access to the Internet consolidates the unreplaceable posit
21、ion of Internet in current politics. Personal computers, laptops and even smartphones can be used as a way to the surf the Internet. People at home or on commuting trains or at work are able to read about the latest news on the Internet with their stationed or portable electronic devices, thus guara
22、nteeing that people are in the web of national or even trans-national information and interaction. Secondly, improved education has contributed to mass literacy of people in most, if not all, countries which supports the wide application of the Internet. And owing to the somewhat simple and colloqui
23、al words and expressions used by online media, Internet users tend to gain better understanding of the news reports or online discussions, involving vicariously in a wider range of experience compared to the narrow range of real-life experience. Thirdly, various forms of information delivery, includ
24、ing scripts, photos, videos etc. attracts peoples attention. One of the many reasons why the Internet prevails is that it diversifies the paths through which people are informed.Given these reasons, the prevalence of the Internet seems to be inevitable. And according to the status quo in many countr
25、ies, the Internet has far outweighed traditional media like newspapers or magazines in its influence on politics. Next, I will try to explain what kinds of advantages guarantees the success of the Internet. On one hand, operating websites requires lower cost than printing media and especially media
26、like radios and televisions. Little trade-offs of human labor grants the websites more freedom and flexibility in news reporting. Production simplicity and low costs make the Internet the best populist medium nowadays. It is also due to the fact that Internet operation costs less that the Internet c
27、overs a wider range of information. Lets compare newspapers with the Internet. Newspaper editors take more elements into account in order to maintain readership. In this, I would like to put forth an idea of congruence, which basically means readership of one kind of newspaper in a certain area. To
28、enhance congruence, editors have to ensure that the reports included in their newspapers attract as many readers as possible, thus leaving out some other information less related to the locals. For instance, Southern Metropolis Daily which mainly aims at covering citizens in Guangdong province tends
29、 to report more news events happened in Guangdong while Beijing Evening News focuses more on events took place in Beijing. Therefore, I conclude that traditional media like newspapers are more localized than the Internet, which appears to be broader or cosmopolitan. Such features of the Internet con
30、solidates its essential role in politics.On the other hand, the Internet is more interactive than traditional media. Traditional media tend to be one-direction, which means they are more of editor-oriented than reader-oriented. Readers try to accept the ideas editors put forth in their articles beca
31、use there are no other competing information or perspectives for them. In this sense, public opinions are somewhat oppressed. However, the Internet turns out to be different. Blogs, online forums, newsgroups etc. serves as trans-national platforms straddling time-zones, offering possibilities for pe
32、ople from different nations to communicate and argue. Those who populate the various discussion spaces in which political talks occur are geographically disparate, but through the Internet they can talk directly to each other in virtue spaces. Moreover, such diversity invites the possibility that th
33、eir physical environments contribute to differences in perceived importance of issues or knowledge on political matters. Therefore, a wide range of ideological perspectives voiced on the Internet will contribute to higher qualities of political discussions. These two reasons mainly construct Internets advantage over traditional media. Ever s
