The primary use of the internet in the American political system has been through campaigns, Mass Media, and mobilization.
Campaigns
All presidential candidates have used the Internet as means of recruitment. Politicians use their web-site to foster debate. An example of this was Howard Dean, and his use of active blogs. This allowed anyone to comment on his campaign. To look more into this visit Dean's web site at: www.deanforamerica.com
Other former and current political candidates have not fostered such an active way to participate, but they do provide the viewer with their candidate's policy stances and past history. To view these candidates visit their web sites at:
But at the same time, viewers may only view candidate web sites that they agree with. This could cause polarization because readers will enhance their own view without evaluating others. More information on polarization click here.
Internet campaigning is advantageous because it allows candidates the opportunity to raise money. This is beneficial to a candidate because they can raise money and not have to spend time doing so. It also helps a candidate because it is a form of public opinion. People have the opportunity to get on the internet and vote with their money. To view an example of online fundraising Click Here.
Mobilization
Mobilization is defined as the act of marshaling and organizing and making ready for use or action. Mobilization has been a hot issue since the founding of the United States of America. When James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton were trying to get the Constitution ratified, they argued against mobilization because it would cause factions in society. In Federalist Paper No. 10, Madison argued the need to create a country that could balance factioning. He realized nothing could be done to stop people from mobilizing in groups to pursue their own needs.
This is an American phenomenon. Americans were the first modern nation-state to have a democratically elected leader, the president. The president had to get more electoral college votes that are supposed to be castled by who their constituents wanted. Therefore, the presidential candidates had to mobilize enough voters to win the election.
So, the question is not whether mobilization takes place, but whether the internet has affected mobilization in America in a good way?
The internet has allowed citizens to communicate with people of their own views no matter where they live. People can go to chat rooms and discuss issues with like minded individuals. This allows people from different areas of the country to talk about issues and meet to pursue their own needs. For example, if a person living in Orange County, California was liberal, their Congressperson would be conservative because most residents of Orange County are conservative. The internet provides a means for the isolated individual to organize with other individuals like them, and pursue their own interest. To read more about examples like this, click here.
But, the internet maybe creating a more polarized society because of people's ability to mobilize across land barriers. Some people would claim polarization is worse now than it has ever been. People organize in interest groups and do not associate with anyone else. This does not seem bad at first, but the beauty of the American government (Majority rules, Minority rights) is deteriorating. People are taking their own interests too far.
Mass Media
Mass media is defined as those media reaching large numbers of the public via radio, television, movies, magazines, newspapers and the World Wide Web. This term was coined in the 1920's when nationwide radios, newspapers, and magazines began. Mass media is the backbone of information in all countries. The United States allows a free flow of media by way of the First of Amendment of the Constitution, but there has been a debate on regulation concerning all Media but especially the internet. More information on the First Amendment click here.
A new aspect of Mass Media which affects democracy is the World Wide Web. Many newspaper and television companies have seen the Web as a new means of supplying information to the public.
The advantages Mass Media provides on the internet are almost unlimited information and cheap resources. Information is almost unlimited because the First Amendment, and because there are types of newspapers and broadcast stations from all sides of the political spectrum.
With the internet, newspapers are free and access takes a couple seconds. There are also countless radio stations that can be heard over the internet for free. The Web used as a cheap median is allowing people the opportunity to get information from many resources at a low cost.
But, there are draw backs of having a lot of media sources. An individual can focus on one newspaper that expresses their own views. They do not have to diversify which newspaper they read, and this can cause polarization. A person can also narrow what they read from Media by using ciphering tools provided by most newspapers on-line. An example of this is the "Daily Me" that is a person constructs on their own. They may not look at things in Africa or Asia, but focus on the Middle East and Europe.
Another draw back of the media in regards to American democracy is agenda setting. Agenda setting refers to way in which the media sets the order of importance of current issues, and sets the terms of reference for the debate on those issue. If people only watch television, they will only get political perspectives that are shown on the given station.
Media sites:
Ny times: www.nytimes.com
The State: www.thestate.com
FOX: www.fox.com
NBC: www.nbc.com
To see how academic courses on this subject click here
Online Voting
Online voting is a relatively new topic. There have not been any major attempts to vote on a massive scale on the internet, but the internet has been used for public opinion voting. In 2000, Alaska and Arizona tested internet voting. These two states allowed a certain number of people to voted on the internet. But, is online voting a good thing for American democracy?
The advantages to online voting is greater participation. In 1996, only 49.08% of the voting age population of America voted in the general election. Less than half of registered voters voted. But why do so few vote? According to the US Census, most people do not vote because voting takes too much time. If internet voting was established, the time cost involved would be minimal.The cost of taking off work and driving to the polls are too high for some Americans, and people see online voting as a remedy to this. To read more click here.
But, there is a disadvantage to online voting. There is still are heated debate on whether voting online is safe. First, no one knows if the person voting is actually the person registered. For example, a husband could vote twice if his wife let him vote for her. The major issue is with safety. The internet has always had hackers affecting government sites. What is to keep cyber criminals from botching an election? (LINK to Chris's page) So, Governments are concerned about fraud and criminal acts. To read more click here.
