Well, the election is over, and this means good things for our country. The election season saw its ups and downs; there were tears and laughter, boring bits, and all of it is documented online. Youtube allowed everyone to see the candidates’ blunders (over and over and over, and send it to all their friends). Blogging allowed even the little guy to have his opinion heard and considered. Wikipedia and others made the candidates’ platforms more accessible, and let more people get educated. Websites have made fundraising easier. All of these factors have made candidates and all politicians be accountable for everything they say. While this is sometimes a good thing, videos can also be edited or skewed, taking words out of context to make the candidate look like a fraud.
Let’s take a look at some great youtube moments. Here is an example of how modern media ensures candidates don’t change their minds or words without everyone knowing. This is an example showing that anyone can post anything, regardless of its ridiculousness. The internet has definitely changed the playing field for presidential election. Even televisions in every home was a big deal for the elections. People being able to see the candidates made charisma and looks much more important. The internet has taken that to a whole new level. Everything can be watched and analyzed in its real format, or in one created by either a proponent or opponent of the candidate. Now everyone can participate in politics.
Voter education has become especially important with growing technology. While the internet has done wonders for elections, it’s scary to think that someone could post complete lies about a candidate or skew the truth and a million people have access to it. But the nice things about non-partisan internet is that there are a million sides to every story and the truth is out there if you look for it. And more truth than a lot of people might want to know. If you’re curious, you can find out anything about someone! Not in a creepy stalker way, but if you really want to research a candidate, internet has made it so easy to find how they’ve voted on issues in the past, everything about their personal life/criminal records, etc. Everything matters now, and the tiniest screw up a politician makes will surely be a video online with thousands of views within days. I haven’t seen any research, but perhaps there’s a correlation between Bush having the lowest ever approval rating and his being the first presidency where internet is accessible to everyone?
2 comments:
You make a good point about voter education in relation to advancements in technology. I agree that the availability of information on the Internet enables citizens to be better informed by exposing them to a wide variety of news sources and opinions. And although it’s a positive thing that all this information is out there, one has to be careful about the accuracy of the information. Not only can Internet users access more information, but also they are challenged to question that information and create their own opinions by sorting through the facts for themselves. You raise a curious question about the correlation between Bush’s rating and the accessibility of the Internet. I would also be interested in seeing some numbers, but I’m sure it can’t help. I guess we will have to wait and see if Obama’s ratings reflect the same trend (as the use of the Internet will continue, perhaps to a greater degree).
Another way the Internet has been utilized is in the real-time. I know that during debates and especially on election night, I sat in front of my television (using the remote’s ‘jump’ button to flip between CNN and MSNBC coverage) with my laptop. On my laptop, I had the pages of several different news sources opened in various tabs and windows. These pages were continuously updating themselves to provide me with a live feed of any election developments. Although each page practically contained the same information, I wanted to make sure to know the latest information as soon as it broke.
I’m not sure that the Internet alone can “keep people involved in politics” because I think people themselves must take the actions to stay involved. The Internet will only show a person the information for which they seek and if they’re not interested in politics, then they aren’t going to see too much information about it. They may run into campaign ads on various non-political sites, but in years without large elections, these are essentially non-existent. So, I conclude that even though the Internet plays a huge role in the dissemination of information, it is the responsibility of citizens to search for and sort through this information to make the correct assumptions and opinions for themselves.
I agree with mublogger's notion that one has to be careful about the accuracy of information on the Internet. It is all too easy to find completely contradicting "facts" on the Internet concerning politicians.
I also think it would be interesting to find a correlation between a politician's approval ratings and the public's Internet use.
One thing I would also like to point out, though, is that you (!!!) mention that the Internet is "accessible to everyone." I must disagree with this statement. While perhaps the opportunity exists for 99.9% of the population to physically access the Internet (whether on an iPhone or at a public library), accessibility to the Internet is also determined by ability to use the Internet. My grandmother just turned 95 years old this past week, and although she is a very healthy, active and clever lady who's seen a lot during her lifetime, she never uses the Internet because she doesn't know how. She doesn't own a computer, and she's not about to go out and spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on one, plus the cost of an Internet service provider. To be quite frank, I don't think my grandmother could fully grasp some of the simplest skills required for using the Internet. Even my mother, who does use the Internet, has difficulty navigating and performing what we may consider very basic functions online. She has to constantly play catch-up just to read email and do some brief googling. I don't blame her or my grandmother for not being as proficient as a slick 19-year-old. My mother and my grandmother simply did not grow up with this sort of communication technology. I commend anyone who has the motivation and patience to learn something new.
While I do think it is very important to note that society is barely reaching electronic adolescence and that many many people lack some of the basic Internet skills, I do not doubt that the Internet has had a tremendous role in recent politics and the fate of our nation. And I do not expect this role to decrease. There's no turning back now....
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