Civic Engagement and Political Communication through Web Based Media - Research Paper Example

Civic Engagement and Political Communication Through Web Based Media Introduction Internet and web based technologies have revolutionized the human life in many ways. When internet was initially introduced to the world, people thought it as just another medium for communication. But, virtually every day after the introduction of internet, more utilities attached to internet and web based technologies. For example, apart from communicational needs, internet is at present used for educational purposes, business purposes (e-business), videoconferencing purposes, for money transactions purposes, for paying various taxes to the public departments etc. Political communication and civic engagement are the recent addition to the internet utilities. “A study completed during the 2004 political campaigns found 37% of adults in the United States and 61% of online Americans used the Internet to get political news, to discuss and debate candidates and issues via email, or to participate by contributing time or money to a campaign” (Dustin and Mark,p.1). In the recently concluded American elections, internet was used extensively by both the candidates. Web-based media such as YouTube or Facebook or aggregator sites like Bourque.com or Huffington Post are handling issues related to civic and political matters which have lot of popularity among America, UK and other western countries. This paper briefly explains how web-based media such as YouTube or Facebook or aggregator sites like Bourque.com or Huffington Post are affecting civic engagement and political communication. Political communications through web media Political communication occurs between the politicians and the public. It is necessary for the politicians to spread their policies, visions and missions to the common public. Earlier, political communication was mainly through speeches and printed materials. The entry of television has helped politicians to reach out more public staying even in distant areas. But all these communication methods had certain drawbacks. These communications were aimed at masses not individuals. As we know no two individuals are alike and hence these communication means were failed to communicate with individuals. Web based media has come to the rescue of politicians recently which helped them to communicate with the each and every politically interested public individually. Political marketing is essential for the politicians to achieve power. Political marketing is the blending or marriage of marketing and politics in order to achieve political objectives. Political marketing objectives are achieved through political communications. The field of political communication studies the interactions between media and political systems, locally, nationally, and internationally. Political communication focuses on the analysis of: a) the political content of the media b) the actors and agencies involved in the production of that content c) the impact of political media content on the audience and/or on policy development d) the impact of the political system on the media system e) the impact of the media system on the political system (Kolovos and Harris, p.8) Web based media can reach a wide range of people all over the world irrespective of what culture or political ideologies these people believe in. Youtube and Facebook like medias has played an important role in the last presidential elections in America. Youtube, founded in February 2005, is one of the most popular video sharing web resource (10 hours of video uploaded every minute, 100 million views per day, 20 million unique users per month). It allows the upload and exchange of videos including interactive videos. It can reach anywhere anytime. Political videos uploaded on Youtube may include content analysis, surveys and interviews etc. (YouTube As an Alternative Medium of Political Communication). “Using the slogan “Broadcast Yourself,” founders Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim created the Youtube for anyone with the means to upload videos” (Dustin and Mark, p.9) “The 2008 presidential election is the first election to take place with YouTube. Many journalists, researchers, and bloggers have coined this election as the first “YouTube election” (The YouTube Election 2008). In fact before the actual American president election happened in 2008, YouTube election has of the president has happened. The probable results were predicted well before the actual elections by the YouTube and that also accurately. Current American President Obama has used the word “Change” effectively to mesmerize the American public. American people were suffering from the side effects of global financial crisis, and the huge expenditure former President Bush spent for Afghan and Iraq wars. Moreover, the threat from terrorists and the 9/11 incident have messed the American civil life. Obama has used the “Mantra of Change” to canvas the public. He has spread his slogan using the social service networks like Youtube and Facebook to attract the public. In January 2006, 40% of YouTube users were 18- 24 while only about 15% were 45-54 and about 5% were over 55 years old. By October 2006, the percentage of users 18-24 years old had declined and all other age groups had grown, including people over 55 now making up more than 10% of YouTube users. YouTube is heralded by some as an important site because of its strong community element. “It’s a community where the videos are part of a running conversation between members (Dustin and Mark, p.9) The above statistics clearly shows that majority of the users of YouTube have voting rights. In other words, any efforts used to reach these YouTube communities might be useful to the politicians compared to other medias. The success rate of canvassing through YouTube like web medias are definitely more than other traditional medias. You Tube offers more than 12 categories for users to choose. News and blogs category of YouTube consists of high percentage of political materials. “Uploading advertisements directly to YouTube allows politicians, as well as interest groups, the ability to reach citizens and distribute messages without the typical monetary costs. This genre included relatively few videos but is important as a distinct category because it offers those with less monetary capital to enter into the political public discourse” (Dustin and Mark, p.14). The statistics of video types used by the prominent presidential candidates in 2007-2008 is given below. Obama Clinton McCain Frequency Percent Frequency Percent Frequency Percent Commercials 112 14.6% 98 37.7% 47 42.0% Personal Stories 21 2.7% 52 20.0% 3 2.7% News Clips 167 21.7% 66 25.4% 32 28.6% Speeches 293 38.2% 40 15.4% 13 11.6% Interviews 36 4.7% 10 3.8% 4 3.6% Debates 32 4.2% 19 7.3% 0 0.0% Other 185 24.1% 25 9.6% 23 20.5% Total Videos 768 768 112 (The YouTube Election 2008) Civic engagement through Web Based Media Facebook, Myspace, Six Degrees have both launched ways for non-profits to utilize the social networks that exist on those sites. As of a month ago, the biggest causes was *Support Breast Cancer Research* which had close to 1.5 million members and had raised over $30,000.  Stop Global Warming had garnered 650,000 and Save Darfur had close to 500,000 members (Social Capital Blog) These statistics are indicators of the usefulness of these social service sites in developing public awareness about the civic matters. It is not possible by the government alone to work eradicate the social evils. The social organizations and the committed medias have lot of importance in fighting against the evils and fighting for a social cause. In fact the popularity of social service medias are increasing every day. It is possible for anybody to use the blogs of these social service networks to express their views and concerns about the social matters. It is not necessary that the blogger should be a professional writer to post their opinions. The internet is now part of the fabric of everyday civic life. Half of those who are involved in a political or community group communicate with other group members using digital tools such as email or group websites As of August 2008, 33% of internet users had a profile on a social networking site and 31% of these social network site members had engaged in activities with a civic or political focus (such as joining a political cause, or getting campaign or candidate information). That works out to 10% of all internet users who used a social networking site for some form of political or civic engagements (Smith et al, p.26) Another interesting factor about the users of these social networking services is the age of the people. Majority of the people who are used these web services for political purposes are of the age below 35 whereas those who above 35 has used these websites for social purposes or civic engagements. The above difference is understandable since the elder people are keener in social activities compared to the younger generation. Old people always have more interest in social activities because of their increased preferences to moral or ethical values especially when they approach to their end of life. For example, a person who has crossed his sixties always s may have a worry about his life after death. Religions have taught that only those who keep higher standards of morality will get salvation. Even though the offers of religion may not influence the youths much, it can influence the old generation immensely which encourage them to involve in social activities more frequently than the youths. In fact the donors for the charity purposes using the web based medias are more from the older generation. Religion plays a major role in civic engagement, as 40 percent of respondents who reported they are frequent participants in religious services noted they had increased their level of civic engagement. In addition, individuals who reported they had a high level of social activity – visiting often with friends, eating together as a family or belonging to a local club – also reported an increase in civic engagement. The results indicate that social engagement through church, friends or even via social networking sites can have a significant impact in countering the negative effect of the current economic downturn on civic engagement “God, friends, and Facebook provide a civic safety net,” said David B. Smith, NCoC Executive Director. Criticisms against web media Even though the web media is one of the favorite mean for the western politicians, it is not so at least in some countries. For example, Iran has banned Facebook usages in Iran for political advantages (vasgk). Iran has realized the power of facebook in politics and decided to ban it even though it provided equal opportunities to all. In fact Iran and other traditional Muslim countries looking at the development of web media suspiciously. They are foreseeing some dangers in such web meida for their traditions and cultures. They think that these social media networks are aimed at spreading the hidden agenda of destroying the Islamic values, traditions and culture. For example, articles and videos against the fundamentalist attitudes of certain Muslim groups are often discussed in the social service medias like YouTube and Facebook. Covering of the entire body including the face is a social custom followed by traditional Muslim women. It is difficult for the westerners to digest such attitudes in the current civilized world. Facebook and YouTube have lot of contents which ridicules the attitudes of some traditional Muslim political leaders. In fact these web medias are fighting against the social evils by encouraging active discussion among traditional societies against the social evils. Former UN bureaucrat and the current Indian minister of states for foreign affairs, Shashi Tharoor, has recently involved in a controversy because of the comments he made upon politicians through the twitter. “Shashi Tharoor has remarked economy class as “cattle class,” on twitter, which was strongly disapproved by Congress. The party strongly disapproves the statement of the minister. It is unacceptable, not respecting political or any other sensibilities,” said Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan” (Shashi Tharoor in Controversy : Sensible Slangs on Twitter, Congress Offends) Shashi Tharoor is one of the emerging charismatic politicians in India who uses twitter like web medias extensively to interact with the public. But some of his comments he made on twitter, comparing the economy class travel in India as the cattle class travel provoked many people. The congress president and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul was asking the ministers to reduce their expenditure to boost the images of the party by using economy classes for their traveling purposes. In fact Mr. Tharoor and another minister forced to vacate their stay from a five star hotel as part of the reduction of public expenditure. Many people are of the opinion that Mr. Tharoor’s comments on twitter was against the Congress president who made him the minister. Even though the controversy has ended when Mr. Tharoor has personally expressed his sorry about the comments he made, the influence of twitter like web media for the political communication purposes has strongly underlined by the above issue. Online dating is another issue associated with using the web based media. Many people give false information through the net which can trap others. It is a fact that online dating can be used in healthier way if performed with the true spirit. But it is foolishness to anticipate such 100% transparency in online dating. “Social networking and other online communities have opened the doors for many young people to discuss social and political issues without the fear of being ridiculed. The media has allowed us to transform ourselves into ideals, through the use of photoshop and just plain lying. Even if individuals speak the truth, does their behavior remain constant outside of the media and in the real world?” (Mendes) Conclusions Internet has opened another door for political and social workers to reach out the public. In fact, the e-era has revolutionized all the segments of public life irrespective of whether it is public or private, political or social. Politicians are judiciously using the internet resources to boost their images and spread their ideologies. Social activists also use internet for awakening the public against the social evils. They also collect money for charities using the internet. Compared to elder people younger generation is more interested in political communications through web media. On the other hand the older generation is more interested in social services using the web media than the political communications. Even though the popularity of web media is huge in western countries and most of the civilized societies, some of the traditional societies still have concerns about the wide popularity of web media. The web medias like facebook and You Tube are witnessed suspiciously by some fundamental societies. In fact the internet itself is watched suspiciously by some people. If used judiciously, web based media can help the people in attaining a high degree of awareness about the domestic and international matters. At the same time like many of the other innovations like the nuclear power, internet or web based communication can also be misused. Works Cited 1. Facebook. “Study Finds God, Friends, Facebook are Important in Fostering Civic Engagement”. 07 December 2009. 2. Harp, Dustin and Tremayne Mark. “Programmed by the People: The Intersection of Political Communication and the YouTube Generation”. All Academic 07 December 2009. 3. Kolovos, Ioannis and Harris,Phil. “Political Marketing and Political Communication: The Relationship Revisited”. 07 December 2009.< http://eprints.otago.ac.nz/32/1/pm-pc.pdf> 4. Mendes Cindy. 2009. “Civic Engagement”. 07 December 2009. http://cindymendes.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/blog-6-civic-engagement/ 5. Smith Aaron, Schlozman Kay Lehman, Verba Sidney and Brady Henry. 2009. “The Internet and Civic Engagement”. 07 December 2009. 6. “Social Capital Blog”. 2007. 07 December 2009. 7. “Shashi Tharoor in Controversy : Sensible Slangs on Twitter, Congress Offends”. 07 December 2009. 8. “The YouTube Election 2008”. 07 December 2009. 9. Vasgk. “Facebook Political Communications”. 07 December 2009. 10. “YouTube As an Alternative Medium of Political Communication”. 07 December 2009. Read More