The Internet and Its Contributions to Politics and Governance

Marshal McLuhan identified that changes in the technology we use to communicate result in great cultural and societal changes. He recognized the role that new technologies played in the field of communication and the implications that these new media systems had on the formation of new sociological networks within a cultural context. Of the new technologies, nothing has proven as disruptive and as capable of affecting the fundamental societal and cultural framework like the internet. The internet has had a profound impact on the communication practices of this generation, and it is expected that this influence will only become more pronounced. The internet has had far reaching implications in the field of communication, prompting its use in education, business and even politics. The internet currently has the distinction of being the single greatest communication tool, and since it fosters participation in the election process has affected politics by improving public access to information, and as a result made democracy a more realizable objective.

The internet unites man and makes the world into a global village. The power of the internet derives from its ability to unify thought and bridge people all across the globe. Marshal McLuhan was first to identify and document this quality of the future communication tools. Recognizing the communication as a means through which man extended himself, McLuhan stated that “the medium is the message.” McLuhan’s intended meaning was not that the message content was less important than the channel, but to point out that the nature of communication was such that man was likely to be influenced by the characteristics of the medium just as much as they would be affected by the content of the message. A constant theme in his writing was that “all technologies are extensions of our physical and nervous systems to increase power and speed” (McLuhan, 1966). In the specific case of the internet, what the medium served to do was to extend the social and intellectual function of humans as to result in there being a “global village.”

The internet is without a doubt the greatest mass media communication tool ever developed with a greater reach than any other medium. From the basic idea that media and technology, which are synonymous to McLuhan, are extensions of human functions arise all his other ideas. McLuhan was first to identify the impact of the different technologies on the very nature of communication. McLuhan also identified the value that the television played in mass communication, and was conscious of the projected line that future communication would take. McLuhan observed that “the next medium, whatever it is — it may be the extension of consciousness — will include television as its content, not as its environment, and will transform television into an art form” (McLuhan, 1962). McLuhan’s perceptions are important because they recognized the impact of technology, particularly electronic media, in carrying social and political functions together and bringing human responsibility and awareness over the technologies to an intense degree. In effect, he was able to predict accurately the effects of communication technology on the social and political interactions.

The internet has improved public access to information and created more avenues to use in engaging in intellectual discourse on the same information. As a medium of communication, the internet has a very wide reach. Of all the mass communication media, none has had a more profound effect than the internet (Mansell, 2013). By reducing the time it takes to pass a message across, the internet, among other electronic communication technology, has had the effect of lessening the distance between people and as a result weakening of social boundaries that has resulted in the creation of the so called “global village” (Mansell, 2013). Information is, therefore, available in one common pool from which anyone can access irrespective of their location.  The internet has not only made information accessible, but has also provided people with additional means of engaging in discussions on the issues raised and voicing their opinion. The twenty-four hour news cycle has made sure that the public can constantly access news as it breaks, and has a ready source for commentary and analysis for various experts in the different fields.

The internet has greatly influenced the way people think about popular issues, and in this way has exerted a strong degree of social control over the public. McLuhan was able to recognize the possibility that new technologies could disrupt an established environment because people would often apply the new technology in ways that they did with the old one (McLuhan, Fiore & Agel, 1967). The internet has affected the way people communicate and solve problems more than anything else. Through the global communication network, issues can be shared and acted upon by a host of people from all around the world, all in a concerted effort to identify an appropriate solution (Mansell, 2013; McLuhan, Fiore & Agel, 1967). McLuhan acknowledged this when he remarked that “there is no kind of problem that baffles one or a dozen experts that cannot be solved at once by a million minds that are given a chance simultaneously to tackle a problem” (McLuhan, 1966). Where individual prestige on discovery of the solution to a problem existed, the internet has encouraged greater satisfaction being derived from dialogue and group discovery.

The internet has made democracy a better system of government owing to the universal reach of information to the citizens. The world is increasingly moving towards becoming a global village. The ideas that are prevalent in one part of the world have exposure to all other areas, and where there is agreement on their merit are advanced to all persons. On this McLuhan noted that where the world was becoming increasingly interconnected, it presented the possibility that the entire globe, and the human family, could coalesce into a single consciousness (McLuhan, Fiore & Agel, 1967). The internet has been instrumental in spreading such ideas owing to the wide reach that it grants the ideas. Through the internet, democracy as an idea, and all the principles that constitute it can be shared among people easily (Best & Wade, 2009). Such pertinent information as what exactly democracy entails, the rights of the people and the responsibilities of the government can be easily shared through the internet. The government can be kept in check through online activism, and as a result, democracy prevails.

The internet has resulted in fundamental changes to the political participation particularly in the electioneering process. The internet has enabled political candidates to reach a larger number of people, and thus has helped to ensure their ideas have wider appeal. The changes that the internet has brought about in politics can be reflected upon by examining the role of debates in presidential elections. Initially, presidential debates and any form of direct appeal for votes was frowned upon. It was not until the advent of televisions and radios, and the ability these had to connect the politician to a wide cross-section of the public that debates began. Ronald Reagan was able to shed the image that he was a conservative candidate by addressing the claims on national television (Schroeder, 2008; CNN, 2015). Barack Obama on the other hand owes his campaign success to the use of internet as a medium for interfacing with the voters (Schroeder, 2008). His campaign strategy was noted for the exceptional use of social media and the internet for campaigning and engaging voters. The trend that emerges is that politicians have been quick to recognize this, and those that put the knowledge to good use can reap the benefits.

To conclude, the internet has had a remarkable impact on communication, particularly in relation to governance, through encouraging participation in the electioneering processes. Further, the internet has affected politics by improving access that the public has to information, and as a result democracy is more achievable. The reasons for this profound contribution can be attributed to the nature of the internet as a medium of communication, not just the content that it relays along. The internet has thus been able to influence the public resulting in a shared consciousness and the perpetuation of common ideas. It is with this in mind that politicians have adopted the internet, among other digital communication media as a way through which they can engage the electorate and directly appeal for votes.

References

Best, M. L., & Wade, K. W. (2009). The Internet and Democracy Global Catalyst or Democratic Dud?. Bulletin of science, technology & society, 29(4), 255-271.

CNN,. (2015). AllPolitics – Presidential Debates – History. Cgi.cnn.com. Retrieved 12 December 2015, from http://cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/debates/history/

Mansell, R. (2013). Imagining the Internet. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

McLuhan, M. (1962). The Gutenberg galaxy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

McLuhan, M. (1966). Understanding media. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

McLuhan, M., Fiore, Q., & Agel, J. (1967). The medium is the massage. New York: Bantam Books.

Schroeder, A. (2008). Presidential debates. New York: Columbia University Press.