With all the chatter about the role of the Internet in this year’s Presidential Election (yes, 2004 was dubbed the first Internet Election, but I think most would agree 2008 is really the year where the Internet played a hugely significant role, rather than simply serving as the vanguard), there’s been some discussion about whether or not the innumerable writings to be found on the Information Superhighway means people will now be able to experience more diverse points-of-view than ever before, or if it will simply provide people with even more viewpoints that mesh with their own, and allow them to completely push out contrary perspectives.
With so much involving the Internet, it’s really what each individual makes of it. If a person wants to use the Internet to delve deeply into Medieval architecture, or if they simply want to watch videos of people getting hit in the groin with various objects, both of those options (and an infinite list of others) are available to them on the Internet. The same holds true for politics.
A person could hop on DailyKos or the Sean Hannity forums first thing every day and completely digest the day’s news through that ideological filter, emerging with a take on the facts diametrically opposed to their liberal/conservative counterpart.
And while that may seem a bleak perspective for our country’s political future, one would be hard-pressed to argue that the continued availability of constantly growing sources of information is a bad thing. Rather, I would maintain that individuals who seek out and only listen to perspectives that ape their own would likely just avoid contrary information altogether in a non-Internet world.
As a counterpoint, it’s vital to remember that the information is always out there on the Internet, and it’s just there, waiting, for people to take advantage of it. I thought this post on Andrew Sullivan’s blog today was particularly pertinent to that theme:
This is my first election year without a TV or local radio. I have been
completely dependent on the internet and print media for my electoral
news.Instead of bulleted paragraph points in a brochure or
snippets of speech chosen for me by an editor or the oddness of my
brain, I have read (and reread) or watched (and rewatched) entire
speeches and election platforms online.The result of all this exposure dawned on me
when I glanced at my ballot. Instead of the straight Republican ticket
of previous years, my ballot this year is a jumbled, bi-partisan
alphabet soup of R’s, D’s, and I’s. I feel so much hope and delight
about this!
The Internet can’t make people absorb opinions that are not their own, but it certainly provides ample opportunities.
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (November 04, 2008) – The View From Your Election: Nebraska
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