Digital Democracy

The Internet and democracy are interrelated in many more ways than we realize. As we witness unprecedented technological advancement in our time, we must ask ourselves: how exactly does this breakthrough affect democracy? Some people think that technology has a positive impact on achieving democratic ideals, but I beg to differ. I think that technology actually does more harm than good.

In a quick glance, the Internet may seem like a great tool to engage anybody from anywhere in the world. It’s marked by the era of cosmopolitanism, where people are communicating and acting at a global level. It may seem as though Internet is helping democracy by encouraging and allowing citizenship participation in international affairs and other matters. However, the wide use of Internet has not necessarily linked every part of the world, as people often tend to presume. The gap between the wealthy and developing nations is only steadily increasing, and the Internet still remains a privilege accessible to a small portion of the world population.

There are many social networking sites and forums on the Internet that allows people to have a direct connection to whatever they are pursuing in the digital world. This changes what people expect from democratic participation. With the speed and availability of content and sharing information, people generally want to put their two cents directly to anything of their interest. Because of their familiarity with the Internet world, they will expect institutions to act the same way as the Internet – fast, efficient, approachable, and made solely by their direct participation. However, it is unrealistic – and possibly dangerous – to have such an expectation because democracy in the real world does not work that way. Being used to the convenience that the Internet brings to our lifestyle, people are less likely to actively do something to build a more direct participation as citizens – instead, the Internet helps us become lazy and only expect as we stare at our computer screens.

Secondly, the Internet has tons of platforms for people to make coalitions and promote interest groups. This can seem encouraging because it reinforces the plurality of political entities and ideas that exist in the world. However – just like any bureaucratic procedures and policymaking – a high number of political actors does not always yield high efficiency. Like the analogy that a ship will sink with too many captains, the presence of too many political groups and forums can actually diverge from the goal of practicing effective politics. Information can get lost, people spend more time arguing against others than promoting their agenda, and not every group is represented equally. The Internet world is similar to the real one in that, sometimes, unfortunately, those with money and power have the loudest voices. Even if anybody can easily get involved and make their voices heard on the Internet, it’s hard to fight through the red tape and censorship and have tangible, widespread presence in this vast digital realm.

Lastly, the Internet isolates people. In contrast to what people generally believe about the Internet – that it connects everybody because there is information everywhere – it, in fact, does the exact opposite. While it is true that there are all kinds of information on the Internet accessible to people, we don’t consider everything. The digital media allows us to easily pick and choose what we see, when we want to see it. This only encourages people to focus only on what they would like to see, or what they are comfortable with. How often would somebody use the Internet to access information that doesn’t serve their interests? Not very often. This can eventually lead to isolation and separation between different people. People need to come together and find commonalities in a democracy – this is the exact opposite of the steps we need to take for establishing democratic ideals.

On a less theoretical note, the Internet serves to help people harm others. For example, terrorists use the Internet to create their own virtual sub-culture and to recruit people. Also, the Internet is another means of attacking the government and threatening the security of the state through hacking and viruses – a method that terrorists have been using. Because of the vastness of the digital world, it is close to impossible to detect every single unlawful action.

I recognize the usefulness of the Internet, but it hinders the kind of cooperation and participation needed to achieve democratic ideals. The digital world can make people have unrealistic expectations of democracy, create too many subgroups that result in loss of focus, and isolate people based on their interests. Can we deny the benefits that the Internet brought us? Of course not. However, the way that we treat the Internet currently serves as a major hindrance to democracy.