Quote

In Matt’s blog, he shared this quote. “The absence of any correlation between internet usage and civic engagement could mean that the internet attracts reclusive nerds and energizes them, but it could also mean that the Net disproportionately attracts civil dynamos and sedates them.” Then he proposed these questions…Do activists write their hearts out on the internet, and then fail to take action in real life because they feel like they have already done their part? Is the act of discussing your beliefs online the same as doing so offline?

I think that these are two great and thought provoking questions!

This situation reminded me of the quote that Divya found and shared on the discussion board. “The Internet is like alcohol in some sense. It accentuates what you would do anyway. If you want to be a loner, you can be more alone. If you want to connect, it makes it easier to connect.” Therefore, following the same thought process, it may be the case that the internet encourages more active participation in “civic engagement”. For those people who would act in real life, the internet helps make this possible. However, Samantha pointed out in reply to that post that alcohol is sometimes referred to as “liquid courage” because people who are under the influence do things that they might not do when sober. The internet acts in a similar manner. The anonymity possible in cyberspace gives people the courage to speak their opinions and express their thoughts, when they may not feel comfortable doing so in a face to face situation.

This was extremely beneficial to the Obama campaign, because as Matt phrased it, “people actively discussing it on the internet” absolutely helped spread awareness. In this case simply spreading the word and discussing the issue was enough. I do think that in certain situations, such as the protests described in the article “The Radicalization of Zeke Spier” real life action is going to make more of an impact. When you want to expose the issues to a large amount of people the internet can be a great tool to do so, but if you need to make an impression on people of power talking on the internet just does not cause enough of a stir.