43,092 matches
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meta-analysis of the Internet and its effects on political engagement. She identified 166 possible effects of the use of the Internet and analysed 38 scholarly surveys of those effects. Her results did not validate or invalidate her hypothesis. The conclusion of this research is that the Internet hâș positive effects on political engagement but those effects are not significantly greater than the negative ones: "În sum, this meta-analysis suggests that the effects of the Internet use on engagement are positive, but
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not establish that these effects are substanțial"2. Although there are scholars who tend to believe that "we are entering another important turning point not just în communication technologies, but în social structure and identity formation that affects the behaviours of audiences"3 I consider that the Internet hâș little or no effect în generating the long praised public sphere fostering critical debate on political issues. Aș I tried to show elsewhere, technology cannot lead to social progress by itself 4
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reality. I shall examine those claims one by one în order to see the mechanisms that work against them. One of the most important theories about the way public opinion functions was elaborated by Noelle Newmann 5. Her famous "spiral of silence" refers to the fact that media limit the freedom of expression instead of expanding it. From the beginning of the last century the media was supposed to function aș a public arena where different points of view could be
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Her famous "spiral of silence" refers to the fact that media limit the freedom of expression instead of expanding it. From the beginning of the last century the media was supposed to function aș a public arena where different points of view could be expressed and debated. But, aș Newmann is proving there is a huge difference between public opinion and published opinion. The published opinion is perceived by the public aș the legitimate and the general opinion. The ideal model
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is proving there is a huge difference between public opinion and published opinion. The published opinion is perceived by the public aș the legitimate and the general opinion. The ideal model of the public sphere where citizens express their points of view ignores în Newmann's opinion one basic characteristic of the public's predispositions: the tendency to conform to what we feel is the accepted opinion of the majority. Fear of exclusion makes people refrain from expressing their opinion if
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they feel their point of view is contradictory with the socially accepted one. The public's deep conviction is that the press expresses the "socially accepted" opinion of the majority. This is why we could end up with unexpected results of elections. People keep their opinions to themselves fearing the danger of social exclusion and creating a "spiral of silence". They vote for a radical candidate they did not have the courage to say they approve. The example of Vadim Tudor
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is that the press expresses the "socially accepted" opinion of the majority. This is why we could end up with unexpected results of elections. People keep their opinions to themselves fearing the danger of social exclusion and creating a "spiral of silence". They vote for a radical candidate they did not have the courage to say they approve. The example of Vadim Tudor winning an unexpected 30% of the votes în 2000 is a classic example of the way the spiral
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unexpected results of elections. People keep their opinions to themselves fearing the danger of social exclusion and creating a "spiral of silence". They vote for a radical candidate they did not have the courage to say they approve. The example of Vadim Tudor winning an unexpected 30% of the votes în 2000 is a classic example of the way the spiral of silence is functioning. Fear and deșire to conform are two powerful elements that were neglected by those who believed
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silence". They vote for a radical candidate they did not have the courage to say they approve. The example of Vadim Tudor winning an unexpected 30% of the votes în 2000 is a classic example of the way the spiral of silence is functioning. Fear and deșire to conform are two powerful elements that were neglected by those who believed that the media are able to promote criticism. Instead the main role of the published opinion is, în Newmann's view
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that the media are able to promote criticism. Instead the main role of the published opinion is, în Newmann's view, is to offer social stability, cohesion and integration. Instead of fostering critical debate the media is imposing certain topics of discussion thus arbitrarily framing the social reality 6. Although Noelle Newmann's study is a classical one it is still taken into consideration when different scholars try to assess the impact of the new media on the political engagement. În
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feel their opinion is contradictory to the dominant one. The researchers conducted an opinion survey on a very controversial issue: the release of classified dată by Edward Snowden. The reasons the researchers focused on this particular issue was the result of indecision of the public: some believed what Snowden did was treason while other believed it was his patriotic duty to inform the press about the abuses taking place în the NSA. Another survey conducted by Pew Research Center proved that
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public sphere, the members of the public itself where less inclined to participate. Thus according to the dată provided by the researchers * "People were less willing to discuss the Snowden-NSA story în social media than they were în person. 86% of Americans were willing to have an in-person conversation about the sur- veillance program, but just 42% of Facebook and Twitter users were willing to post about it on those platforms. * Social media did not provide an alternative discussion platform for
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but just 42% of Facebook and Twitter users were willing to post about it on those platforms. * Social media did not provide an alternative discussion platform for those who were not willing to discuss the Snowden-NSA story. Of the 14% of Americans unwilling to discuss the Snowden- NSA story în person with others, only 0.3% were willing to post about it on social media"9. Although many use the social media, taking a public stând on a controversial issue is
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is monitoring every conversation people have în private, on their e-mails it is likely their public opi-nions expressed even using a virtual identity can be traced back to its original source, and thus, making the individual more vulnerable. The lack of proper regulations protecting the freedom of expression render the individual extremely vulnerable: even human resources departments can use the information released on the social media networks în the hiring process. The censorship process is far more devious în this case
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rather than political censorship: people are afraid they can lose their job or find it difficult to find another one at some point if they get too radical în the social media Aș recent research is proving "only 15 percent of companies hâd policies în place that explicitly prohibited human resources department from using the sites aș a hiring resource"10. The lack of specific regulation preventing companies from using the dată posted on the social media networks by their potențial
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if they get too radical în the social media Aș recent research is proving "only 15 percent of companies hâd policies în place that explicitly prohibited human resources department from using the sites aș a hiring resource"10. The lack of specific regulation preventing companies from using the dată posted on the social media networks by their potențial job candidates makes it difficult for people to truly express their believes. Aș a recent survey conducted by a job recruitment site11 shows
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that 37% of the companies use the dată posted on the social media networks to pre-screen their candidates. Șo employees no longer fear their political leaders, they fear their bosses, their potențial bosses and the human resources departments. The systems of social control have shifted form the political to the financial sector. But this type of social control is accompanied by the fear of social exclusion. Aș the Pew Research Center is showing: * "În both personal settings and online settings, people
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their political leaders, they fear their bosses, their potențial bosses and the human resources departments. The systems of social control have shifted form the political to the financial sector. But this type of social control is accompanied by the fear of social exclusion. Aș the Pew Research Center is showing: * "În both personal settings and online settings, people were more willing to share their views if they thought their audience agreed with them. For instance, at work, those who felt their
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they thought their audience agreed with them. For instance, at work, those who felt their coworkers agreed with their opinion were about three times more likely to say they would join a workplace conversation about the Snowden-NSA situation. * Previous 'spiral of silence' findings aș to people's willingness to speak up în various settings also apply to social media users. Those who use Facebook were more willing to share their views if they thought their followers agreed with them. If a
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issue, they were about twice aș likely to join a discussion on Facebook about this issue"12. What this study shows is that there are important forms of social control that limit citizen's willingness to overtly express their point of view. Indeed, the social media offers them the possibility of becoming "unprofessional journalists", opinion-makers. It appears the social media is a democratic media that offers citizens the privileged position that only a few professionals enjoyed before their appearance. But this
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discussion on Facebook about this issue"12. What this study shows is that there are important forms of social control that limit citizen's willingness to overtly express their point of view. Indeed, the social media offers them the possibility of becoming "unprofessional journalists", opinion-makers. It appears the social media is a democratic media that offers citizens the privileged position that only a few professionals enjoyed before their appearance. But this is only a super- ficial view on the subject since
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same rights. The law forbids a newspaper to fire a journalist aș a result of its political views. The law guarantees the journalist the right to keep his sources secret. Although the citizens may have gained access to the mass-dissemination of informa- tion, they do not enjoy the same liberties and rights. Another important aspect is related to the fact that people can choose the type of information they are exposed to. Therefore, the frag- mentation of the audiences makes it
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per- centage points (Kull, Ramsey, & Lewis 2003). În short, the Republicans remained unaffected by a tidal wave of discrepant information"13. The "technological skepticism" în terms of the Internet having the power to encourage political engagement is also the result of a very interesting relation between the presence of the media and its credibility. It seems the more media is present în our life the more we become distrustful about the information it disseminates. There are no clear regulations preventing the
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order to manipulate them. Politicians are no exception to this rule. The term "poster" (English version for Romanian "postac") is a common noun recently introduced în our language to refer to someone who is paid to express apparently "free" points of view on a particular subject. A recent political scandal involves one of the most important Romanian politicians, Elenă Udrea, who was supposedly paying important amounts of money to an "army of posters"14 whose job was to make sure there
Polis () [Corola-journal/Science/84981_a_85766]
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someone who is paid to express apparently "free" points of view on a particular subject. A recent political scandal involves one of the most important Romanian politicians, Elenă Udrea, who was supposedly paying important amounts of money to an "army of posters"14 whose job was to make sure there are positive comments about her în the social media. Șo aș a conclusion: Social media is not bringing citizens closer to the political power. Although the media is more present than
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