This is the 21st century and speed communication has been for decades one of our most valuable assets. With all the technology development, the easy accessibility to information and a little help from the world wide web we are now capable of using communication to establish network with people all over the world. Somehow, internet and social communication became an essential tool for all of us nowadays. We started with the radio, upgraded to the TV and now the most used tools are smart phone with internet and computers (PSU, WC, Psych 424, lesson 9, 2016). Everything we are exposed on our social environment can be easily assessed in the internet; all of our interests, knowledge, social interactions, our identity influences, lifestyle and beliefs (Manago, Graham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008). The online world is a large group of people interacting with each other without having to be at same place, the result for the large mixture of interactions is that our perceptions and beliefs about our environment very often are changed by newer concepts or facts that surface every day on a quick speed, sometimes faster than we can follow. This persuasive invisible environment has changed the ways we form our constructs about the world; and as much benefits the media in general and internet has brought to us, it also has started dramatic changes in the way we behave and perceive politics, health, religion and violence (Schneider, Grumman, & Coutts, 2012).
Politics is already a very controversial field because it involves human rights and personal beliefs. With the internet as our ally, our ways of thinking have been persuaded and we are now capable of being politically critic about leaders, laws, civic rights and participation. Some of this online influences can be positive and make our political system work in our favor, or it can be negative and cause social revolution when the population does not agree with their leaders. Recent research has shown that of those who connect to social network 40% had used them to engage in some political activity (Zhang, Johnson, Seltzer, & Bichard, 2010). For instance, many people have developed credibility in political online polls with the course of a virtual interaction. Their values and political expectations have changed due to exposure to all kinds and sources of different political views (Amichai, 2013). In a society where all of us want to contribute socially and be accepted by our peer group, share and follow idealist politic views is very common. In this scenario, trust on online political matters is defined as expectations that ‘‘people have of each other, and institutions in which they believe such as their political party” (Zhang, et. Al., 2010). As we all seek a moral social order, which is fundamental for organized societies, we expect political organizations to be responsible for this assurance; and with the use of the technology, they can easily reach citizens and spread our shared ideals (Zhang, et. Al., 2010, p. 76).
The Internet nowadays is used in a daily basis to build this civic participation among communities; in essence, the effect of the Internet on civic participation is contingent upon how individuals use the Internet. Information-oriented use such as information acquiring and exchange on the Internet provides users with opportunities for civic recruitment and further encourages political participation of the members of a community (Zhang, et. Al., 2010, p. 78). Online politics can also increase social tolerance and open discussions about community needs. Overall, because the young population does use internet for all their social needs, they are more likely to engage and participate in political decisions, such as the presidential election for 2016 if political parties and other online polls incentive them to do so. It is essential that we all have access to information regarding our social environment, and the internet of all the communication resources has proven to be very effective on this aspect.
However, we need to remember that the use of technology and internet can at some point be dangerous if our influences come across as extremists. Political views need to be respected in an individual level and even with the online access to others perspectives, we need to keep in mind that everyone has the right to protect and share their own opinion without harassment. Some participation in online political content can be viewed as illegal if it infringes the first amendment (Zhang, et. Al., 2010). Because the internet is a large interacting group, it should be cautious to interact with others respecting their rights and beliefs; and let them chose by themselves if they want to change it. The internet and media are everywhere in our lives, the same as politics in our social environment. For that reason, we should carefully consider how we let the internet influence or change our perceptions about politics and other important matters.
References
Amichai-Hamburger, Y. (2013). The social net: Understanding our online behavior (Second ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordscholarship.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199639540.001.0001/acprof-9780199639540-chapter-005
Manago, A. M., Graham, M. B., Greenfield, P. M., & Salimkhan, G. (2008). Self-presentation and gender on Myspace. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(6), 446-458. Doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2008.07.001 Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/science/article/pii/S0193397308000749
Penn State University, World Campus (Fall, 2016). Psych 424: Lesson 8. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1802487/discussion_topics/11378502?module_item_id=21233980
Schneider, F.W., Grumman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2012) Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
VanHuysse, J. L., Burt, S. A., O’Connor, S. M., Thompson, J. K., & Klump, K. L. (2016). Socialization and selection effects in the association between weight conscious peer groups and thin-ideal internalization: A co-twin control study. Body Image, 17, 1-9. Retrieved from: http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/1795490319?accountid=13158
Zhang, W., Johnson, T. J., Seltzer, T., & Bichard, S. L. (2010). The revolution will be networked: The influence of social networking sites on political attitudes and behavior. Social Science Computer Review, 28(1), 75-92. doi:10.1177/0894439309335162. Retrieved from http://ssc.sagepub.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/content/28/1/75.full.pdf+html
Tags: Internet and politics, online polls about politics, The use of media influences
I find it very interesting you chose to write on a topic such as this. Earlier this week I was having a discussion with my roommate regarding the same issues in politics. In reference to this election specifically, I find it very interesting the way people all over the world have such strong feelings about our elections, yet more often than not they lack any substantial amount of knowledge on the matter. Each time I have found this error is due to unreliable, bias resources of information that tend to be very weak. For example, nearly every person I speak to in France strongly hates Donald Trump because last year one incident was publicized where Trump stated that he didn’t want French immigrants coming to the states because of their high presence of terrorist. Since then, French people only publicize that which shows Trump as a outspoken racist, followed by positive aspects of Hillary. Therefore, the media has sole handedly created a strong feeling of hate amongst the French people towards Donald. On the other hand, I have spoken with many hard-core republicans that hate Hillary Clinton. Every day on social media I see people publishing clips of her and her scandals making radical claims such as “she is the antichrist”. What is most unfortunate is throughout the entirely of this election, I have yet to see an informative broad casting or article that is unbiased or simply focused on the acts and proposals of each of the candidates. As a result, both sides tend to be uninformed and focused more on the drama that’s publicized than the effects each candidate could realistically have on our lives. This kind of response to a decision as important as the presidency is absolutely absurd and childish to me. The results of our decision will not only affect our lives it will have an affect on the rest of the world, yet people have focused more on petty matters. Sadly to say, I believe this irresponsible, inappropriate response to the election is the fault of the media. It is one more example of how technologies are crippling man’s ability to think for themselves.
Isn’t it interesting? The internet is really a powerful tool, and at some point is scary how much of our lives depends on this device now. The other day I came across a website that matches our personality with presidential candidates. Based on psychological cues, that they retrieve through personal questions and the values we point we follow, they determine who is the candidate that we should vote. Is is crazy for me, because this type of internet usage can be danger. We never really know if that is an specific candidate trying to convince people to vote for them. After all, we create those online interactions, but very rarely we actually really know who is behind the device on the other side. I do tend to not really trust everything on internet anymore, as the bullying, racism and criticism are very open concepts. People do create online profiles and can easily use misleading information, then they feel safe enough to say whatever comes to their minds (Manago, et al., 2008). It turns into a danger weapon in wrong hands and have caused harm for some people.
Besides all the controversial social issues exposed on internet, is also the heavy use of pseudo-advertisement that is intended to indirectly target people and influence their lives decisions. Remembering that some online sources can have have significant negative impact on peoples’ behavior and perception of their social environment (Bardone & Cass, 2007). Nowadays, our diets, our lifestyle and our decisions are all relying on online facts that can or cannot be accurate if we do not pay attention and run a research. The use of internet should definitely be cautious as it can end up causing some source of harm.
Graciella Souza
References:
Bardone, & Cass (2007). What does viewing a pro-anorexia website do? an experimental examination of website exposure and moderating effects. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 40(6). 2007. pp. 537-548. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/doi/10.1002/eat.20396/epdf
Manago, Graham, Greenfield & Salimkhan (2008). Self-presentation and gender on MySpace. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 29(6). pp. 446-458. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/science/article/pii/S0193397308000749
I have found, this year in particular, that the internet has become a harsh tool for this election. This year, more than ever, it is crucial to keep informed and do your homework before selecting a candidate to vote for. Unfortunately, not everyone is trained to know when an article is exaggerating or is even from a satire site. Many fake and blatantly wrong headlines and articles are making their rounds, especially in social media, that really have a influence on the voters. When these satire sites create these articles, it creates a community of misinformation, leading some to believe things that are untrue. The internet is an amazing tool that has changed our lives drastically, and in a lot of ways for the better. However I think it is absolutely essential that, because of how ever-growing the internet is (and how unregulated!), schools begin teaching required classes on developing knowledge in research and teaching how to distinguish fact from fiction on the internet.
I think that the Internet could and should be used as you say, as a democratic source of political discourse and a free exchange of ideas that expands the opinions and the minds of all involved; however, I’m afraid the very reasons you mention why politics are so important are what might make opinions so resistant to change. For one, we tend to socially segregate ourselves into groups of like-minded people with similar personality traits (Bessi, 2016). These little social bubbles mean that we are mostly exposed to the views we already agree with, risking a sort of echo chamber in which our own views are reinforced and the views of others discounted or dismissed without ever really being heard. Indeed, if we do encounter a view contrary to our own, confirmation bias often seeps in and we may dismiss the opinion without ever even bothering to consider it. That’s if we actually see the story to begin with. Software companies like Facebook and Google personalize our news feeds and search results based on what they know about us: They will filter in stories that are relevant to our political viewpoints and filter out stories that might be contrary to them (Pariser, 2011). This is particularly alarming in an age where an increasing number of users rely on Facebook for their primary source of news, especially when the presence of news items on Facebook provides the illusion of being well-informed even if the user never reads past the headline (Muller, Schneiders, & Schafer, 2016).
If we never come to understand what people with different political viewpoints believe and why, it may be all to easy to consider them an “other,” a person without any reason for their opinions and who can easily be dismissed as wrong, entirely wrong, and always wrong. This sort of polarization, of us versus them, has been increasing in modern politics. The political views of Democrats and Republicans are shifting further apart, and each is more likely to see the other as a threat to the well-being of the nation than in the recent past (Pew Research Center, 2014). It seems particularly tragic when all it would take to better understand each other is the click of a mouse.
References
Bessi, A. (2016). Personality traits and echo chambers on Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 65, 319-324. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.08.016
Muller, P., Schneiders, P., & Schafer, S. (2016). Appetizer or main dish?: Explaining the use of Facebook posts as a substitute for other news sources. Computers in Human Behavior, 65, 431-441. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.09.003
Pariser, E. (2011). Beware online “filtrer bubbles.” Ted. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles?language=en
Pew Research Center. (2014, June 12). Political polarization in the American public. Retrieved from http://www.people-press.org/2014/06/12/political-polarization-in-the-american-public/
The power of the media and the web specially is only increasing as the years go by. Just about everyone in the world is connected through the internet, whether it be social media accounts or just following the news from all around the world. I follow people on social media that live across the seas and I feel like I know them. Then you have people whom I admire and follow them, and yes perhaps their view on a political issue can sway me to be on their side. The internet is a powerful tool to reach a large audience and this help politicians target who they want through the use of the internet without the targeted audience even knowing, this makes the message come off more natural. I agree it is a good thing to have access to our social environment through the internet, however some messages can be altered as they are passed on the long and large networks of social media accounts and such. The influence the internet has to deliver a message is undeniable, perhaps more people should use it as a means of reaching out messages to help society as opposed to argue about political issues that many of us have no control over.