THREE WAYS NEW MEDIA HAS IMPACTED MODERN POLITICS

New media has not only changed how people communicate, but it has also changed the way people do politics. In her book Understanding New Media, Siapera claims that new media has renewed the possibility of a “radical renewal of political life” (Siapera, 2018, p. 45) by encouraging the following actions:

1. Democratizing information
2. Encouraging active participation
3. Mobilizing people to speak their minds and support a belief

Democratizing information

Each election year sparks conversations about reform, democracy, and progress. Thousands of people cast their votes every four years to support a politician who they believe will achieve their definition of reform, democracy, and progress. New media has expanded these conversations by allowing people to cast their votes and choose a side every day, not just every four years. Everyday citizen can “comment, discuss, and criticize political developments” (Siapera, 2018, p. 46) as they happen or even when they’re just political ideas. Politics has shifted from having a hierarchical model to a decentralized one. New media has given citizens access to information that was previously inaccessible and newfound power and control.  

“Knowledge itself is power.”

-Sir Francis Bacon

The emerging online presence of politicians has led to the creation of digital platforms that serve as what Pippa Norris refers to as a “pluralistic civic forum” (2003 qtd. as cited in Siapera, 2018, p. 45). In a way, new media has leveled the playing field. Years ago, during the “mass-media- dominated era” (Siapera, 2018, p. 48), only the top parties and politicians were shown on television or received attention from the press. As a result, citizens were more likely to hear about their platforms, their ideas, and their policies. Most likely, citizens were going to vote for the politicians who they saw on tv or read about in the newspapers because they knew what they stood for and what they planned to do. Lesser known parties, on the other hand, were left in the shadows. Those who were interested in these platforms had to actively go looking for information about them. Now, information about all parties can easily be found all over the World Wide Web via social media, Youtube videos, and their websites in addition to the press and television. Siapera states, “all of them can be represented online” (Siapera, 2018, p. 48) so they can share their own ideas in a way that they decide is appropriate. Citizens can do the same. Direct communication wasn’t possible during the mass media era, but it is now.  With a touch of a button, citizens can quickly question politicians, support their campaigns, or share their oppositional views.

This is exemplified in President Obama’s use of social media in the 2008 election. Like many politicians who use the internet to promote, persuade, and encourage participation, he and his social media team used social media to engage with supporters, disseminate information, and encourage “user-generated content” (Siapera, 2018, p. 50). The latter is especially important since potential voters are more likely to trust someone who they view as just like them rather than a politician who they believe will say anything to get their votes. Additionally, during his presidency, President Obama continued to use social media. He used Youtube for scheduled interviews. This reminded me of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s conversational fireside chats broadcasted through the radio.

Below is a scheduled interview with President Obama and one of FDR’s fireside chat. These videos show new media then and now. It exemplifies how both Presidents use the new media available during their time to communicate information to their audiences.

Encouraging Active Participation

New media facilitates two-way communication. Audiences are the receivers of a message, but they can also be senders too. Citizens no longer have to listen to politics and accept it as it is. Now, they can participate in it and shape it like an artist working with a piece of clay.

Through political activism, citizens can engage in three main types of political activism.

1. Progressive – support “reform towards equality and justice” (Siapera, 2018, p.51)
2. Conservative – conserve “the status quo” (Siapera, 2018, p.51)
3. Reactionary – react against “progressive goals” (Siapera, 2018, p.51)

A notable example of pollical activism is the Cult of the Dead Cow (cDc) that was founded in 1984. It was a group of activists that call themselves the hacktivists because they wanted to “protect users from surveillance and invasion of their privacy” (Siapera, 2018, p.52). Members of this cult were firm believers that information should be accessible to everyone without interference or restraints. In support of their beliefs, they wrote “code that resists the attempts to censor the internet… [and] protects users from surveillance from authorities” (Siapera, 2018, p.52).

Mobilizing People to Act

Siapera defines social movements as bringing about “changes in socio-political organization mainly though collective action, protests, and mobilization” (Siapera, 2018, p.54-55). The labor movement, the feminist movement, and the civil rights movements were characterized by the leadership of influential individuals who others came to follow. For example, influential leaders of the civil rights movements were Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and W.E.B Du Bois. In addition to being characterized in terms of significant people, we all remember these movements by the pictures shown in high school history classes. At that time, social moments involved “the organization of protests and demonstrations, [and] the promotion of specific viewpoints and ideas” (Siapera, 2018, p.55). The three movements above and many others during the early 20^th century required actions which came in the form of boycotts, sit-ins, and protests.

Although this still happens today, new media has created a new type of social movement called clicktivism. Clicktivism is defined as “superficial forms of pollical action” (Siapera, 2018, p.60). Previous social movement during the early 20^th century focused on creating change and focusing on the root of socio-political issues. Clicktivism involves the creation of many online petitions, online campaigns, and ongoing requests to view a video or read an article about socio-political issues. It’s a passive form of activism.  It’s a social movement but without the movement. Most importantly, Siapera believes it creates and spreads the assumptions that “awareness will suffice, and for its assumption that online action is enough to bring social justice” (Siapera, 2018, p.61).

How Does This Connect to Technical Communication?

Communication is a two-street. Politics used to be a one-sided conversation where top politicians did all the talking. New media facilitates two-way communication by allowing lesser-known parties and politicians and everyday citizens to join local, national and global conversations about politics and beyond. With this in mind, technical writers need to promote two-way communication by having an open-door policy. In an age where everyone has something to say, they need to add components to their websites, manuals, articles, or any online written communication for their audience to communicate back to them. If not, they risk losing their audience or receiving backlash.

References

Siapera, E. (2018). Understanding new media. London, England: Sage Publications.