Social Capitals and Cultural Democracy - Literature review Example

Web 2.0, social capital and cultural democracy By Student’s Name Code+ course name Instructor’s Name University Name City, State Date Web 2.0 Social Capitals and Cultural Democracy Introduction Globalization has been on the rise in a recent year, and the spread of technology, as well as the access to modern internet devices, has increased (Yousif & Alsamyda, 2012). Many people around the globe have access to the internet and the various technologies provided by the internet. People from various parts of the world have often used the social media to depict their social, political, cultural and economic sentiments. The main question often raised questions the ability of the web.2.0 to provide opportunities for ordinary people to develop social capital as well as cultural democracy. The internet has enabled people to generate content and post these contents on online platforms (Sebastian et al., 2009). The sites on the World Wide Web that enable internet users to generate content and post on online media are often described as web 2.0. For instance, the weblog is a phenomenon that has been viewed to increase the amount of public participation. It has often been suggested that the Web 2.0 is essential in availing critical information to the public. Some of the tools provided by the web 2.0 technologies include Blogs, podcasts, social networks, wikis, ePortfolios, microblogs and social bookmarking. Therefore, this paper will research on the ability of Web 2.0 to create opportunities for the ordinary people especially in the development of social capital and cultural democracy. Social networking Social networking has been the latest story in the telecommunication sector and specifically the results of World Wide Web (Dave, 2011). Internet use around the globe has been on the rise, and many people can access the internet-based information. Many researchers have referred to this digital age as information-based age. The trend in the social relationships has changed as people have shifted from face to face interaction to online communication. The shift does not come due to coincidence, but several key factors are responsible for the transformation and the resulting social dynamics. Facebook has been very vibrant despite the technology having a very young age in the field of information technology. According to Valenzuela et al (2007), one of the factors that have contributed to enormous growth in the number of people using Facebook is the free entry. Very few official requirements are required for one to join the online platform, which makes it possible for any person regardless of the age to join. The free entry has allowed people to open multiple accounts, which make it impossible to identify the real owners of a specific account. There has been no security measure to authenticate the identity of the Facebook users. This must be one of the reasons as to why Facebook identity cannot be used in real person identification. Another important factor that has catalyzed the quick spread of the use of Facebook is the entertaining edge of the social media (Antheunis, Abeede, & Kanters, 2015). The online platform provides both local and international entertainment inform of news, images, audios and audio visual. Junk of entertainment published and posted on the Facebook pages and profiles attract many people around the globe to be part of the entertainment. People love to be entertained at a low cost, and that is exactly what Facebook provides to its users. The cost of accessing the internet is one of the cheapest ways to communicate. Facebook connects people from various parts of the world with no limits in place to prevent interaction. The only type of security measure that can restrict is a personal security measure. The open platforms invite many people accessing the internet to explore some social groups in the site with ease. As stated before, Facebook has many users around the globe, which implies that the barriers to access information posted on the social media are almost null. Owning a Facebook profile is very free and only special features are charged. For instance, people who intend to reach out to a larger audience are required to pay some amount to ensure that the marketing part is taken care. This feature is known as boosting of the posts and is mostly used by businesses and entrepreneurs. To date, the number of Facebook users around the globe is so large and almost every country has access to the social media (Westling, 2007). Except few extremist states, people have the freedom to access the features provided by Facebook. The number of people owning Facebook accounts cannot be clearly established since there are people who have multiple accounts. For instance, people may open specific accounts for specific reasons. The emergence of the internet was seen as the savior for the marginalized groups and as such has managed to pave the way for useful developments such as Facebook. Facebook has also been able to incorporate and partner with other telecommunication companies, which make it preferred across many platforms. Just to understand how famous the site is, one can attempt to establish the number of adverts posted on a Facebook page. For instance, one post by a celebrity can get thousands of responses from all over the world. Facebook has not provided an option where people of a specific social class or race are discriminated. Everyone has access to public information and only restricted information by the user cannot be accessed by strangers. In such cases, users who post restricted information use the privacy options provided by the Facebook site. For instance, one cannot join a Facebook site without seeking approval from people controlling the groups or member. Despite these restrictions, Facebook remains an open platform where all kinds of people meet. People working in different areas can meet and chat on these sites without considering the backgrounds. Such an advantage can be attributed to the fact that Facebook does not control the authenticity of its users. Some people can create a high profile while others may create a low profile. People’s identity is entirely or partially concealed which implies that social, cultural and political identities cannot be easily established. The aspect of geographical boundaries may not also apply to the use of Facebook despite the fact that IP address can be used to determine geographical locations. Effect Web 2.0 on social capital and cultural democracy Online technologies have managed to provide an avenue for powerful social media tools such as Facebook and Whatsapp (Antheunis, Abeede, & Kanters, 2015). The social media tools enable people to share a lot of information with no restriction on the type and sensitivity of the information shared. In some cases, cases of privacy infringement in powerful sites such as Facebook have often arisen. Facebook is a powerful social media tool that was recently created by an American entrepreneur, Zuckerberg. The technology has many capabilities in availing information to many people around the world (Sabatini and Sarracino, 2014). According to Sabatini and Sarracino (2014), there has been a decline in the social capital due to the changing trends in the social relationships. The term social capital has been used to describe the general features exhibited in social life such as networks, norms, and the trust existing among human being. The decline in the social capital can be attributed to the development of the telecommunication sector which has significantly reduced physical interaction. On the other hand, it may also be argued that the development of technology and emergence of social platforms such as Facebook have increased the rate at which people around the globe interact (Lissa, 2009). However, the same argument cannot be used to describe the effect of Facebook on common parameters such as norms. The nature in which restrictions on the type of content availed on the sites. People have almost total freedom to publish any type of content including the contents that have the potential to erode cultural norms. Some special factors about social capital can be derived from the idea that cognitive; social capital entails perception by individuals which result to trust, beliefs of values. The situation may or may not have any impact as far as promotion of pro-social behavior is concerned. Several indicators that are backed up with frequency can be used to establish how a social network platform such as Facebook affects social capital. In recent years, there have been changes in the performances of social capital when social activities and formations are considered (Holt, Shehatta, Stromback, & Ljungberg, 2016). For instance, the formation of organizations, the rate of participation by members, trends in informal social connections, and interpersonal trust. Breaking down this social parameter as far as the use of far as the use of Facebook is concerned, it can be established that the formations of formal organizations have significantly increased. People can form social organizations and also be able to interact at their own convenient time. As such, one it may be concluded that the Facebook platform has reduced the inconvenience related to distance and time. People can meet on social platforms and discuss important matters. However, official decisions can not be met on social media (Loader & Mercea, 2015). The intensity of member participation on Facebook has significantly increased in the recent past as people of all ages have adopted the use of the online platform. Many other organizations such as the commercial and non-commercial organizations have been able to create Facebook pages where people formally interact. Due to the limitations of Facebook, some official decisions cannot be reached using the online platform. When considering an important social capital parameter such as interpersonal trust, Facebook has not been able to enhance this area (Tkacz, 2012). People can discuss and even make arrangement online, but it does not imply that they have developed interpersonal trust. Some online deficiencies such as security concerns are responsible for the magnitude of the eroded trust. Internet security issues such as cyberbullying, and other cyber related crimes have been at the center of social media technologies. It may be hard to establish if people on Facebook have clean intentions or ill intentions. It is possible that several people can socially interact on Facebook yet these people have never met physically. Furthermore, it is possible that most people use made up names to hide their real identity which makes the issue of trust complicated (Bart, 2008). Only people who have met physically can have social trust among themselves. When considering the type of new publications made on social media, some may not bear any truth since it may be a bloggers way of earning money. Most of the publications are not entirely true which also raise an issue about Facebook, social trust, and social capital (Tkacz, 2012). On such grounds, one may conclude that Facebook does not contribute to the development of social capital. As a result, the social capital has greatly reduced which has significantly changed. Some countries such as the USA have recorded significant drop elements of social trust, political participation as well as organizational activities (Sabatini and Sarracino, 2014). Exemption of the eroded social capital state include the countries such as China, Japan, Korea and some Scandinavian countries. According to Sabatini and Sarracino (2014), the trends that have characterized modernization are also responsible for the declining trust. However, no study can claim that it has conducted a conclusive study on social parameters such as social participation. Some studies have yielded findings that contradict with the hypotheses of declining social participation. The explosion in the use of internet around the globe has not been so intense in the countries included under exemptions. According to Bart (2008), there is some participatory potentials of Web 2.0. The article e has identified several levels such as the level of colonization by the market and censorship by states of organizations. Other levels have been appropriation by political, social control by citizens, anti-democratic voices. The first three categories have been recognized as organizational while the remaining two are recognized as individual level. These factors are considered as threats (Bart, 2008). For instance, the blogosphere has been described as fragmented that is in most cases conflicting in nature. Most blogs have been invaded by capitalists and large media conglomerates. This makes the blogosphere an area of commercial interest. The argument is clear because the many sites and blogs have interesting topics but irrelevant posts. The main intention of such blogs is to earn money basing on the number of site visits. The current trend has also seen major companies in the telecommunication sector acquire other sites. For instance, Facebook owner managed to buy the Whatsapp company. It can be considered that major actors are taking over the online business by creating colonies. As such the claim that powerful individuals are taking control of the social media can be partially true. Despite the fact that the Facebook technology is meant to be an online platform where people interact and share ideas, it has some barriers in some countries (Dahlberg, 2011). Facebook can allow a lot of sensitive information to get into the hands of the public. In some states, such a condition is considered a national security threat. Countries such as China have installed adequate technologies to control the use of this social platform in the countries. The move by these states can be considered as a bold step to control its political environment. With theses strict policy to control social media, people in China and twenty-five other countries do not have the freedom to access of post any political information that that deviates from the directives of the government. Most of the countries that have been active in surveying the social media platform are in Asian and Arab states (Bart, 2008). It will also be realized that these states have an issue when it comes to leadership and democracy. Perhaps this explains the reason why the governments want to control the political environment. Bbart (2008) provides an example from Egypt where a blogger known as Kareem Abdel was convicted for branding Hosni Mubarak, a dictator. Such a bold step to control the political environment was possible because Hosni Mubarak had one interest and that was to control his presidency. Most countries that have embraced real democracy allow people freedom of speech and have no rules whatsoever to control social media such as Facebook. In these countries, the grassroots people can access sensitive information posted by the few individuals who are well informed. The use of Facebook in democratic states has been active in calling for change from various sectors of public governance. The freedom of expression in democratic states allows people to criticize the government as well as leaders. Elements of corruption and poor leadership are easily exposed in such a way that most people accessing Facebook have a chance to access such information. A new trend known as the appropriation of politics ad culture by the elites has emerged in the use of Facebook and other blog media (Bart, 2008). The people who believe have access to information or have the ability to critique particular political or cultural behavior have found an easy way to reach many people. Despite the fact that most people may never write facts, the position that they can establish on social media can be enormous. This depends on how the elites post the accurate information that the public yearns to see. Facebook has been very active in eroding cultural norms and at the same time very active in catalyzing a political environment (Tkacz, 2012). For instance, political leaders have established a new way to reach out to many people without spending a lot of time on the streets. The political leaders can create blogs and market them on Facebook or post their political message on Facebook walls (Chandwick & Howard, 2009). The media industry may not overly on a specific schedule to inform the public on what is trending locally or internationally. With Facebook, news can be posted at any time without inconveniencing any party with the aspect of time. According to Conroy eta l. (2012), Facebook is a new force to reckon as far as civic engagement is concerned. The platform has allowed the political environment to disseminate and access junk of political as well as related economic information. The reach around the globe is so large because almost 93% of the youth around the globe were able to access the internet by 2007. A chance that such a percentage might have reduced nine years later is impossible. The participation on social networks has greatly increased to a point that any information shared on social media can go viral in just a few seconds. Politicians can easily determine how they are ranked in the society through opinion polls on Facebook. In addition, the politicians can easily access the political mood as well as the political wind through the use of Facebook (Chandwick & Howard, 2009). Facebook has completely managed to create a political environment where both local and international politics converge. Facebook users can engage in local or international political debates at their own free time. Conroy et al. (2012) point out that there has been a new trend of online group membership on social media. People who join these online groups have access to any information posted on these group and this move has presented a great political deal. In addition, any group member can publish a message on the group’s wall. According to Loader and Mercea (2015), social media has managed to network democracy in most parts of the world. The various innovations on social media have allowed participatory politics. For instance, ordinary people can air the political sentiments on Facebook and reach out to other similar thinkers. It can be considered that Facebook has played a part in creating a real democratic environment where the flow of political information is free and quick the public has the freedom to access political information and make political stands. Social democracy has been on the rise around the world with exemptions stated before. Journalists, analysts, leaders, and ordinary people converge on the social media to talk politics. People openly encourage or criticize powerful people within political ranks. Loader and Mercea (2015) explain that there is a concept of democracy generated by the user. The truth is that Facebook has no restrictions to such political moves. Only specific states may step in to control. People have the total right to post anything as long as they do not infringe the policy terms and condition of Facebook such as privacy issues. Despite the fact that Facebook allows freedom of expression to all its users, specific parties outside the Facebook company management have the power to stumble on such endowments. The power can either be politically or economically anchored. Several studies have established that some bloggers considered to post extremely sensitive information have often been silenced in bot conventional and unconventional ways. Public participation, connectivity with people and authors Facebook is a unique platform that creates a virtual social environment where people meet and discuss some issues (Lissa, 2009). One important tool that facebooks users to connect the world are the friend tool available on the site. Facebook has also provided avenues for users to create groups and invite people to join. Facebook allows people to comment or like posts published on Facebook and all these presents how that social media platform allows people to interact in many ways. The users can be connected to the publishers or authors at a click of a button. In addition, Facebook users can easily request friendship with other Facebook users or publishers. Despite the fact that many users may never physically meet, Facebook allows these people to engage on the platform I various ways such as discussions and arguments. Conclusion Social media has been one of the most vibrant information technology tools in the recent year. The fame has quickly risen because of increased internet use around the globe. It may be argued that social media technologies such as Facebook might have emerged at a strategic point when the use of the internet was quickly picking up. It has been established that social media technologies such as Facebook have a great impact on the modern society. Not only does the platform allow people to access information but also allows people to share information. A wide range of information including political information can easily be shared on Facebook. Emerging trends such as online democracy have emerged where people create a virtual democracy on social media. Politician, analysts, and media converge on social media for various stakes. It has also been established that the social media can be subjected to some form of control by powerful political as well as economic players. The main reason to exercise such control is to protect the specific interest. 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