Internet Democracy -The new Media

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The origins of the Internet dates back to the late 160's when the US Defence Department developed a command communication system for military contractors and universities doing military research to exchange information. The system known as the Arpanet sends packets of information off in the general direction of its goal, leaving routeing equipment along the path to forward the packets by whatever route is available. In the late 70's Arpanet was adopted by the US National Science Foundation to create the early Internet. The usage of Internet first started with Universities being connected to super computers. This enabled information retrievals. JANET or Joint Academic Network, similarly to the Internet was developed in Britain however its employment was incompatible (Holderness, 1).

Today, the Internet is one of the largest communications network. More than 1 million people around the world have access to the Internet and the percentage is increasing by 10 per cent every month (Holderness, 1). With the access of Internet, people are now able to communicate with geographically distant acquaintances through the usage of email, distribution list and chats on a minimal cost. The World Wide Web provides a vast sphere of information from education, entertainment, infotainment, business and so forth. With the emergence of the Internet, our lives have become an easier one. Thus this paper discusses the effects of the Internet on society in terms of public sphere.

Before attempting further on the question, it is first necessary to understand the words used. The word 'Public' has profound meanings to it; Public as the non-private, public as general and public as communal. Public denotes openness, community,

citizenship, discussion and debate. This is perceived through the media. There are two important ways in which the media serve public functions. First, by bring information and issues out in the open by constituting publicity. For instance matters concerning political corruption or disputes are publicised on the grounds of people's right to know. Second, by having multiple forums in which issues can be discussed or debated, or also known as the public sphere. According to Grossberg and Whitney, both functions are essential in a democracy if the meaning of democracy is the manifestation of the public will. Public will here means what the public wants and needs and the very issue of public is related to very the issue of democracy (Grossberg et al, 18).

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It was during the bourgeoisie period that the democracy level increased. According to Habermas, the development of public sphere as a social institution in seventeen and eighteen centuries was an important factor in the transition from monarchy to parliamentary democracy. In Germany, England and France many educated and well to do citizens gathered in coffee houses and salons to discuss affairs of the state. Consensual decisions from rational arguments were made based on merits and not the status of its creators. One of the main principals to Habermas' concept on the public sphere is that the forum should be accessible to as many people as possible so that vast social experiences can be expressed and exchanged (Verstraeten, 16). Habermas' theory on public sphere relates similarly to Internet or the now called new media.

In today's society, the Internet plays the same role in contributing democratic functions. It has allowed equal opportunity for its user to share information. The Internet has functioned as a medium without imposed limitation like the newspaper or the

television. Anyone and everyone are now able to publish their work and views on matters of their interest on the World Wide Web. This has indirectly raised press freedom via Internet (O'Brien, 1). Where most countries are concern, media restrictions by the government have suppressed press freedom. Take Malaysia for example, with the implementation of repressive laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act, journalist are constrained from reporting governmental disputes or misconducts although it might be of the public interest (Printing Presses and Publications ACT, 001). This has caused journalists' to go against the fundamental principle of journalism, which is respect for truth and the right of public to truth. As result, most journalists resolved in writing commentaries on the Internet. Steven Gan a former journalist with the Sun Newspaper is an example of a journalist who opted for Internet publishing. With a corporate slogan that reads 'only the news that matters' attracted huge number of readers who wanted in-depth news and details that most mainstream media would not report on. This has allowed readers the opportunity to obtain news from other means and sources and not just depending on mainstream medias. This form of freedom is important in creating democratic public sphere.

The Internet has also brought great changes in workplaces. It is quite evident that the emergence of the Internet has replaced places like libraries. It is much more easier for users nowadays to retrieve information through the Internet on whatever matters or issues that they are looking for. The cost effectiveness and dissemination of countless documents and the effortless updating of those documents initiated the use of Internet in the government and political sector. The Thomas system in the U.S, is an example of

Government maintained website that allows Internet users to freely obtain federal legislative information's. The Thomas system offers information on legislation of bills and amendments, congressional records, session calendars and reports, historical documents and etc. The public has now the access to governmental data and electronic documents of any states in America. Feedbacks, opinion columns and online forums in the Thomas system enable two-way interaction between public and the respective parties involved. This is a form of a civil public sphere on the Internet (Thomas, 00).

Most of the professional sectors such as the Legal sector have the access to legal databases. The Lexis legal database has over 000 judgement recordings since 145. This allows lawyers to trail every single legal precedent. According to Holderness, ventures such as this makes the information that already exist on paper an interesting and easier one. Computerised systems not only holds immeasurable amount of up-to-date information's but also allows quick and easy access to the selected body of knowledge (Holderness, 1). This is why most organizations settle for online data storing as compared to the traditional document file storing, which probably will not or have little access to the public. Thus it is agreeable to say that the whole market sectors are being transformed by the spread of information technology (Grieves, 18).

According to Habermas, a full functioning public sphere is of two way communication and discussion. Some scholars argue that Internet does not provide two-way contentious discussion on social or political issues. This however, is proved wrong by a research done by the Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) with the assistance of McLuhan Program at the University of

Toronto by establishing its first public online consultation website. The website offers discussion forums mostly on social issues. The website attracted over 00 active contributors, of all ages, both men and women of various cultural background, from rural as well as urban and people of different levels of experience with the Internet. The contributors generally posted short thoughts however some developed greater opinions and engaged frequently on debatable issues. The CRTC study proves that not only the Internet initiates the engagement of citizens on matters that affect public interest but also allows greater public involvement than holding face-to- face hearings (O'Brien, 1).

According to Grieves, the development of the information superhighway will lead to changes in society in the way we work and interact with others. It is also said that the new media is capable of reinventing the public. Emails and web chats have replaced the conventional way of writing letters and making telephone calls. This is again due to its timeliness and cost effectiveness. Nowadays, people rely on emails to keep in touch with their loved ones who are away as compared to writing letters that would probably take weeks to receive. The same applies to greeting cards. People prefer sending online greetings during festive seasons because online greetings offers better features like audio and graphic effects as well as personalised images and messages.

Much speculation has been said about the emergence of Internet. While some say that the Internet is a democratic public sphere, others argue that Internet is one of the contributing factors in the decline of civic engagement and other social problems. Civic engagement is the voluntary participation of individuals in the social and political issues of their community (Greene, 18). In Putnam's argument of blaming television as the

cause of decline in civic engagement, many media scholars like Peter Dahlgren also agrees that the increasing prevalence of the mass media like the Internet erodes the critical functions of the public (Grossberg et al, 18). In Putnam's argument, he claims that television watching is the only leisure activity that inhibits participation outside the home. The study on American Television viewers' estimates the time spent on television watching is about four hours a day and thus TV viewers are homebodies. Besides that Putnam also argues that heavy television watching induces passivity as well as increasing pessimism about human nature. Thus it is assumed that the Internet will have the same effects of the television. What people fail to understand is that the Internet like the telephone enhances social participation whereas television only allows passive viewing.

In a study done by The Carnegie Mellon University, it is found that interpersonal communication is the dominant use of the Internet, followed by researching for educational purposes and finally entertainment like online shopping and so on. The two-year study that tracked the social participation of 56 members, all from different level of experiences of the Internet as well as different cultural backgrounds revealed that there were no differences between internet users and non users memberships in religious, leisure and community organizations or in the amount of time users and non users reported spending communicating with family and friends (Kraut et al, 18).

Although there is little evident that proves the decline in civic engagement is due to the new media, other form of problems do arise because of the Internet. One of the prevalent issues is about copyrights and piracy. The Internet being left free without restrictions or any regulations has meant that anyone can post, copy and edit anything on

the Internet. Due to this some industries like the music industry for example is being affected the most in terms of sales. With websites that offer free downloads like the Napster, Kazaa, bearshare and so on, allowed users to obtain their favourite songs without even spending money. This may sound good to most of us as user and consumers but what about those artist and musicians who devote their lives in singing or composing just to earn a living or to achieve their dreams. Don't they need recognition for their work? Another severe problem with the new media public sphere is that it encourages verbal violence. Since on line communication can be anonymous and users cannot be held physically accountable for their words, they tend to be verbally abusive when certain discussion gets heated up. This sometimes discourages the very formation of democratic debates or decision especially among women, as they tend to be the obvious victims (Hunter, 18).

Besides the music industry, another problem with the Internet being left free has caused the exploitation of cyberpornography. Cyberpornography has become a blooming business on the Internet today. In 11, Robert Thomas was tired of moving furniture's for a living so he decided to make money from his computer hobby. Thomas designed a bulletin board and posted 1 photos on it and charged for access. Within three years time he was already making USD 800 000 a year. In 14 however Thomas was arrested when a government agent found Thomas' website (Vivian, 18).

Like Thomas, there are thousands or maybe millions of people hosting websites that promotes cyberpornography. Some authorities argue that cyberpornography should

be eradicated because the exposure of it might affect the social well being of a child who views it, since anyone with a computer connected to a modem is accessible to these sites.

This brought about the proposal of the Communications and Decency Act 16 that imposes fines and imprisonment to anyone making indecent material available to minors online. The law however was eliminated because of the limitations on materials that adults can put on and read off the web. Hence credit card verifying system was implemented where by most sites could only be accessed once the credit card number is verified. While most cyberpornography websites adhere to the system there are also other small sites that promotes free tours of the website before credit card verifications as well as free downloads for newcomers. Since the Internet holds thousands of websites, it is difficult to regulate or even identify these sites. Thus the democratised public sphere of the Internet is often misused (Vivian, 18).

Fytton Rowland in his paper on Policy Issues in Electronic Publishing argues that some of the information posted on the Internet is of less or no quality. Since all publications exist in digital form in some time during their production, many publications are printed indirectly from the author's original keystrokes. He also states that electronic publication will be very different for the different classes of publication such as the scholarly literatures. According to Rowland, scholarly literature represents humanity's collective memory of its most advanced intellectual achievements. Thus he feels that it is important to preserve the unique features of scholarly literature and not sacrificing it for technological advancement (Grieves, 18). Imagine works of Shakespeare being posted on the Internet, and if any modification occurs while its re-publication on the Internet, the

credibility of the literature might be lesser. Internet user might not know the originality of the literature. Rowland states that it is usually easier to differentiate between a scholarly

journal and a popular magazine on the same subject but in the electronic media the distinction between formal and informal communication is becoming less clear. He then relates it to the functions that the library has performed over the years by preserving most

of the intellectual heritage. Materials on the World Wide Web are easy to mount, easy to remove and easy to disappear thus it is difficult to preserve original versions and comment of a scholarly work on the Internet. He concludes by saying that the Internet is genuinely a democratic place but paradoxically if there is no quality control the medium becomes less, not more democratic (Grieves, 18).

It is no doubt to say that the Internet or the new media is an important component in creating the public sphere. Since the prerequisite of the Public sphere as explained by Habermas is the accessibility to a forum by everyone disregarding social status so that view and arguments can be exchanged and confronted through rational discussions, meets what the new media has to offer. Although much speculation about the pros and the cons of the Internet is discussed, the myriad significance of it is incomparable to any other media. It is quite obvious that the number of Internet users all over the world is tremendously increasing due to the fast economic growth and technological development in most countries. Most people are switching to the Internet to obtain news, to check stock exchange rates, weather forecast, bank account balance and so forth. Hence the emergence of Internet is changing our conventional habits and thoughts therefore the Internet can also be useful in influencing public opinion as well as forming action in the public interest. It is important to have a democratised medium such as the Internet for the public to voice out their views and opinions. Information, opinions and discussions that the Internet provides are vital in achieving a civil society. The efficiency of the public sphere can only be achieved when civil societies make full use of the new media.

(700 words)

References

O'Brien, R. (1). Civil Society, The Public Sphere and the Internet. [Online]

http//www.web.net/robrien/paper/civsoc.html

Verstraeten, H .(16). The Media and the Transformation of the Public Sphere

[Online] http//www.vub.ac.be/SCOM/cemeso/paper-uk.html

Hunter, C. (18). The Internet and the Public Sphere Revitalization or Decay?

[Online] http//www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/chunter/public_sphere.html

Grieves, M. (18). Summary. In M. Grieves (Ed.), Information policy in an electronic age (pp. 11-44). Bowker- Saur British Library

Grossberg, L. Wartella, E. & Whitney D.C (18). The Media and the Public. In L. Grossberg, E. Wartella & D.C. Whitney, Media Making Mass Media in Popular Culture (pp.57-74). London, Sage.

Vivian, J. (1). Media of Mass Communications, Fifth Edition, Allyn and Bacon, United States of America.

Kraut, R., Lundmark, V., Patterson, M., Kiesler, S., Mukopadhyay, T. & Scherlis, W. (18). Internet Paradox A social Technology that Reduces Social Involvement and Psychological Well-Being. [Online] http/www.apa.org/journals/amp/amp5107.html

Holderness, M. (1). Down and out in the global village. New Scientist (pp.6-40).

Greene, S. (18). A World of Difference The chronicle of Philanthropy [online]

http//www.nonprofit.com/premium/articles/v11/i0/000101.htm

The Thomas Website (00). [Available online] http//www.thomas.com.

The Printing Presses and Publications Act 184(ACT 01) & Rules And Deposit of Library Material Act 186(ACT 1) 001. Kuala Lumpur International Law Book Services.

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