Social Media networks along with the internet have
created an opportunity for the growth and spread of democracy. Before moving on we must understand the term
democracy, according to the Merrian-Webster online dictionary (2013) democracy
is an organization or situation in which everyone is treated equally and has
equal rights; while they also define democratic as relating to the idea that
all people should be treated equally. The internet is a place that is regulated
by local governments. Therefore, not all
user of the internet are bound by the same rules consequently raising flags
about the true democratic aspect of the internet.
The World Wide Web provides the potential for a
space that can borderless, not controlled by one specific entity. At
first the internet was viewed as a place where a diverse community could have a
forum for discussion of topics that affected everybody. (Kaan, 2005). This view
quickly changed as its participants became labeled as uninformed, impulsive,
and materialistic. (Kaan, 2005). While social
networks provide a place for free discussion of thought, their use has fallen
to be undisciplined, intolerant, and superficial rather than deliberative.(Kaan,2005) These has degraded principle of democracy
first presented by the internet, where everybody would be treated the same.
While
social networks have the potential to serve as a positive form of communication
it has fallen short in becoming a place where everybody will be treated equally
and have equal rights. In Networks, Power, and
Democracy, Saskia Sassen (2006) presents the idea that everybody
can participate in principle in social Medias.
She later also mentions that a small group of bloggers receive the most
attention. We can conclude that while
everybody can participate in social Medias, not everybody will get the same
attention, therefore not treated equally.
Social networks have changed the way we
communicate. This does not imply that
the change has been a positive one. We
see how to many times social networks are used to harass, humiliate, mock, and bully
individuals, or groups. Raquel Recuero
in Digital Youth, Social Movements, and Democracy in Brazil, presents us
we a simple example of how in Brazil someone on Facebook compared women to
Facebook in a derogative manner. She also includes the fact that social media
is exposing problems that were already existent in society.
Democracy is not going to be improved by giving more people a voice
online. It will be improved when the
education and values that are transmitted to younger generations improve. We cannot expect democracy to improve until
the basic principle behind democracy, equal treatment for all, is carried out
by the masses.
