Clicktivism- the practice of participating in a political or social cause via the Internet by means such as social media or online petitions, typically characterized as involving little effort or commitment. This would be like posting a meme about Hillary or Trump on Facebook or liking or tweeting a news article etc.
New technologies like the internet and Facebook are having a major impact on society. Some positive and some negative. When it comes to democracy and the internet there are two camps:
Optimists View:
- Point out how active internet users are. The wealth of information available.
- Easy to have a political voice online. Blogs, likes, forums for like minded individuals
- Easier for political parties and politicians to reach public.
Pessimists View:
- Concerns over central control. Feds Already monitoring what was thought to be private internet traffic. Could end up like China.
- Too many voices. Kill off traditional sources like New York Times.
- Too much misinformation and partial info.
- Web incubates lies, malice, and falsehood because of anonymity
Instructions:
- Conduct research on the effects the internet is having on democracy. Use the information you find to support either a pessimist view or optimist view of clicktivism.