MEDIA, SOCIETY AND POLITICS

Polis

Nowadays communication has taken on momentum like never before in human history. We all aim to be informed faster and easier through technology. The extensive use of social media attracted the attention of many companies, organizations, and political entities to conduct their online campaigns thus being closer to their target groups in meeting the objectives. The Internet and social networks are forcing public communicators of all fields, to change, alienate and adapt. Internet was expected to be an instrument of ‘empowerment’, with the ability to nurture political life and facilitate political mobilization. And while today we are aware that this digital divide has brought inequality to political life, we are also aware of the role that the new media is playing in elevating important political figures.

2015

Arguably, liberal democratic societies are seeing the emergence of a 'Fifth Estate' that is being enabled by the Internet. This new organizational form is comparable to, but potentially more powerful than, the Fourth Estate, which developed as a significant force in an earlier period with an independent press and other mass media. While the significance of the press and the Internet to democratic governance is questioned in all societies, there is particular skepticism of their relevance outside the most liberal democratic regimes, which have a relatively free press and more pluralistic political systems, such as

The Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics, 2015

In recent years, social media are said to have an impact on the public discourse and communication in the society. The Internet has become an increasingly important tool for citizens to not only gain political knowledge, but to engage in the political process itself. In particular, social media are increasingly used in political context. More recently, micro-blogging services (e.g., twitter) and social network sites (e.g., Facebook) are believed to have the potential for increasing political participation. While Twitter is an ideal platform for users to spread not only information in general but also political opinions publicly through their networks , political institutions have also begun to use Facebook pages or groups for the purpose of entering into direct dialogs with citizens and encouraging more political discussions. In this paper, our main focus is to discuss the influence of social media on politics. We explained the importance of social media from the perspective of voters and politicians. We also focused on positive and negative effects of social media on politics. Finally, we conducted an online survey through questionnaires to know the impact of social media on politics..

The media plays a vital role in a democracy, informing the public about political issues and acting as a watchdog against abuses of power. In the mid-20th century the government exercised considerable control over the media – but by the early 2000s media independence and access to government information was protected by a number of laws. During election campaigns the media provides information and analysis about the parties‟ programs, policies, candidates and performance. Political leaders appear in televised debates. Public funding is provided for party advertising, and public broadcasters transmit parties‟ opening and closing addresses. People read the media headlines about a party program, rather than the manifestos themselves. Politicians now must ask themselves, „what is a credible message to translate through the media?‟ Hence the media acts as a powerful filter to the public. Electronic communication seems to make politicians seem more remote-there is still no connection between politics where power is brokered, and the network society itself.

Social Media in Academia: Research and Teaching, 2014

Historically, political actors have differed in their motivations for the adoption and use of technological innovations. Technological innovations may have been introduced when there was a perception that the job would be ̳cheaper and faster‘ with such innovations. Still, the reasons for the introduction of technological innovation tend to be much more prosaic, resting on the symbolic value of the significance of adopting new technology, since a variety of actors want to prove that they are modern, relevant, up-to-date, and in line with their competition. This bandwagon effect came under severe criticism in the case of marginal political actors who devised a clear rationale for their appropriation of new technologies. Due to their inferior resource capacity and very limited exposure in traditional media outlets, this type of political actors began to perceive information and communication technologies not just as a mere technological utility but as a ̳game-changer.‘ A set of more sceptical voices of cyber-realists raised growing doubts about the impact the move online might have on the political process. This ̳politics as usual‘ assertion has made the strongest case for the normalization hypothesis by rejecting revolution in the conduct of politics and stressing that the Internet tends to reflect and reinforce the patterns of behaviour of the real world. According to normalization theorists, a sophisticated political economy began to dominate political, economic, social, and recreational life online. Despite the accumulated evidence of the validity of this line of thought, the emergence of social media — in this case, Twitter — calls for its re-examination. Namely, Twitter as a broad, omnipresent, and always-on communication environment creates various kinds of interactions for actors in the political arena. Research indicates how Twitter emerges as an ambient communication space where politicians and their parties are in constant asynchronous connection with their political competitors, the media, and electorate, where various agents engage in a network of interactive co-constructions of the political arena, and where political actors seek power through a diverse, shared communication field. From a historical perspective, societal conditions that would allow for the ideas of access to and participatory interactions in the political sphere have never fully materialized because of the unequal possibilities of entry into the media field, the uneven distribution of communication competences, and the reduction of public debates as well as the legitimization of dominant opinions created by the powerful elite. Preliminary scholarly findings indicate revolutionary potentials for Twitter; however, there is emerging evidence of the normalization of Twitter as a tool of narrow political struggles. The main question to be addressed is therefore: how has Twitter impacted political communication and to what extent are the existing offline power positions mirrored in this ambient communication environment?

The Internet has revolutionized the way most people live. It has become an integral part of our economic, political, and social lives, altering the way we purchase goods, the way we bank, and the way we communicate with one another. The number of internet users have grown from ten million in 1993 to three billions in 2014. People use online social media regularly to stay connected to their family and friends and pursue interests and hobbies. Advancement in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) , evolution of the Internet Web2.0 technology and the innovation of mobile technology have quickly developed social media into an important way to influence society. Social media has changed the way people communicate, it have helped make real the idea of a “global village”. The power of social media to affect society is based on its social aspects which means interaction and participation . Previous studies conducted on social media use presented Social Media as a tool that would motivate and deepen the relationship between citizens and politicians. Other studies have focused attention on the loss of control over information, the lack of citizens’ interest in general politics and the remaining inequalities of Internet access. According to David Phillips who explored the growth of social media sites, success in politics is now highly influenced by the online activities of political institutions, they can exchange views on the latest political developments or hot topics, inviting the public to comment and follow their political programs. David concluded that we have entered an entirely new and exciting era of politics, the internet has totally revolutionized the practice of public relations. Kathy Cohen, who studies youth utilization of social media, pointed out that social media provides expanded opportunities for political engagement for youth and marginalized groups, facilitated through the culture of sharing and participation. She concluded that social media has the potential to facilitate an equitable distribution of political participation among people from different racial and ethnic groups . To shed-light on the power of social media as political tool, this study explored illustrative cases of effective use of Social Media since 2011, for political mobilization, election campaigning, war propaganda and public diplomacy. The research examined the hypotheses that with the advancement in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), evolution of the Internet, innovation in mobile technology and the rapid increase in the number of Internet users, Social Media became an influential and powerful political tool that provides equal opportunities for the rich and the poor. The advancement in Internet Technology and the rapid increase in Internet users have made Social Media an essential, influential and powerful political tool. Social Media participatory and interactive characteristics have made it an essential tool for political and social change. The power of the Internet and its ability to overcome physical, economic, political, social, and individual barriers, have made Social Media an integral part of modern society communication habits. Social Media supports the human need for social interaction and knowledge and information democratization, transforming people from content consumers into content producers. Social Media provided people with alternatives and the freedom to choose. The participatory skills, norms, and networks that are developed through social media to socialize with friends or to engage with people with the same interests can and are being transferred to the political realm. The average individual has risen to the centre of digital content production, sharing his own knowledge, wisdom and personal experiences with his peers Political activists utilized social media tool such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and weblogs as tools for organizing and generating awareness. Social media allows political activist to operate with greater creativity and independence and to go across political borders. Social Media provides individuals the capability to reach a sizable audience and mobilize others through their social networks in an easy and inexpensive manner. Social media applications such as Twitter have provided politicians with the tool to influence, inform, and engage their public while gathering feedback on political issues

How does social media stands for the functioning of political systems and processes? Does media in authoritarian regimes – which are typically controlled tightly by the state – serve to maintain the existing power structure only? Is Media in democratic regimes autonomous? Whether free mass media serve or harm democracy? How far social media impacts our governance, political atmosphere and society as a whole? These are some of the questions which needs to be addressed while pondering upon “Mass Media and Popular Democracy”. This paper seeks to resolve around the above mentioned questions more or less. These infact are open ended questions which does not have any ascertain answer.

Media and politics have been defined as a symbiosis because they are mutually dependent on each other. Accordingly, current research trends are concerned with investigating how this symbiosis is developing and changing as a result of new media technologies. This article starts by discussing the term ‘new media’ before discussing four main research strands: political activism; political campaigning, political polarization, and political journalism. Strengths and weaknesses in these fields will be discussed, and the concluding remark suggests a vision for further research on new media and politics. Keywords: new media, social media, activism, election campaigns, journalism, polarization