By: Stacy Billingsley
‘‘The more people participate as citizens in politics, the closer one comes to the ideal of a public sphere’’ (Schudson, 1992)
For most people throughout the world, the effects and changes created by politics are blatantly noticeable. It would be safe to say that everyone affected by politics tends to hold his or her own opinions regarding certain issues. Human nature makes a person strive to live a content and happy life, and personal opinions are the “blueprint” that many see as the way to achieve this way of life. For example, someone may believe that the recent healthcare bill is a positive change for his or her own personal lives. From this, it is safe to assume that they believe that their opinion (pro-healthcare bill) is a correct formula for a better life. As noted by the article and defined in the quote above, cyberspace has moved the world of political opinions to a place never before seen. Historically, a person’s opinions were limited by the current technology of the era. If a person felt strongly on a viewpoint, they were only able to promote this view to those they verbally communicated with. The “public sphere” in this era was limited by technology. Cyberspace has allowed this “public sphere” to extend to the entire world. Through the use online forums and blogs, individuals can express an opinion that can be viewed by anyone, anywhere, and without limitations. As noted in the article, newspapers around the world that previously would only write the news are now becoming a central forum to users’ opinions by taking their publications onto cyberspace.
The sheer expanse of the cyberspace is amazing. Based on that, I would agree with a majority of the article in that cyberspace is creating a larger public sphere, but I am personally unsure whether I agree with the quote in that this is an ideal trend. Multitudes of opinions shared with the click of a button have become easy, but has it become too easy? It becomes hard to find the line between one who expresses an opinion because they feel strongly regarding the issue and one who merely enjoys expressing opinions. Technology will never move in reverse. The trends we see today with the ability to express opinions with ease will only become easier. I am sure that many advancements and positive achievements will be made from this forward trend of online political discussion, but I truly question whether quantity of the public sphere will, in the end, negatively affect the quality of personal opinion.
Citations:
(Schudson, 1992, p. 147, as cited in Grbesˇa, 2003)
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