Presentation Title
Deliberative Democracy in the Networked Public Sphere: Using Social Media to Talk Politics
Degree Name
Master of Interdisciplinary Studies (MA)
Department
Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
Location
UW Tacoma Tioga Library
Start Date
17-5-2018 5:25 PM
End Date
17-5-2018 5:30 PM
Abstract
Online discussions about politics are commonplace these days, and play an increasingly large role in the deliberative process that is so crucial to the healthy functioning of democracy. Often assailed as inferior, dysfunctional, and distracting, these kinds of discussions are made possible by the invention and mass adoption of new information communication technologies (ICTs), and questions often arise regarding exactly how the uses of such technologies affect the way in which political deliberation is undertaken. This presentation looks at these questions through the lens of public sphere theory, specifically focusing on how disruption of the public sphere ideal takes place within networks of information communication technologies. Social media and social networking platforms are natural sites for researching these issues, as they host a great deal of political content shared through linking activity. Furthermore, they host discussion about what that content means and what we ought to do about the issues presented. I look at Reddit’s r/politics sub-reddit in order to assess how discussion there adheres to or deviates from the deliberative norms endorsed by public sphere theory and whether these discussions are similar to or different from discussions taking place on other platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Ultimately, the health of our democracy and legitimacy of our institutions depend upon figuring out how we can use new technologies to collaborate with one another and come up with solutions to our common problems.
COinS
Deliberative Democracy in the Networked Public Sphere: Using Social Media to Talk Politics
UW Tacoma Tioga Library
Online discussions about politics are commonplace these days, and play an increasingly large role in the deliberative process that is so crucial to the healthy functioning of democracy. Often assailed as inferior, dysfunctional, and distracting, these kinds of discussions are made possible by the invention and mass adoption of new information communication technologies (ICTs), and questions often arise regarding exactly how the uses of such technologies affect the way in which political deliberation is undertaken. This presentation looks at these questions through the lens of public sphere theory, specifically focusing on how disruption of the public sphere ideal takes place within networks of information communication technologies. Social media and social networking platforms are natural sites for researching these issues, as they host a great deal of political content shared through linking activity. Furthermore, they host discussion about what that content means and what we ought to do about the issues presented. I look at Reddit’s r/politics sub-reddit in order to assess how discussion there adheres to or deviates from the deliberative norms endorsed by public sphere theory and whether these discussions are similar to or different from discussions taking place on other platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Ultimately, the health of our democracy and legitimacy of our institutions depend upon figuring out how we can use new technologies to collaborate with one another and come up with solutions to our common problems.