NYT: Is the Internet Destroying Democracy?

[RJN]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/opinion/20brooks.html

The new media, he noted, allow you to personalize your newspapers so you only see the stories that already interest you. You can visit only those Web sites that confirm your prejudices. Instead of a public square, we could end up with a collection of information cocoons.

[makc]

this poses same risk to democracy as not letting jehova winess to preach in my appartment.

[owlice]

Thanks for the article; it's timely for me, as this topic had come up in class just last week. I was heartened to read this:

If this study is correct, the Internet will not produce a cocooned public square, but a free-wheeling multilayered Mad Max public square. The study also suggests that if there is increased polarization (and there is), it’s probably not the Internet that’s causing it.

Of course, the "increased polarization" part is still of great concern, but at least it appears that people are reading widely online.

[wonderboy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/opinion/20brooks.html

The new media, he noted, allow you to personalize your newspapers so you only see the stories that already interest you. You can visit only those Web sites that confirm your prejudices. Instead of a public square, we could end up with a collection of information cocoons.

I've just read it, and I wish I had filtered it out already.

The internet is a wonderful thing, but it can also be a very nasty place which is full of crime. You either choose to be innocent or nasty just the same as you choose which websites to click on to. This, in my opinion, underpins what democracy is all about. At least we can go onto almost any site we want, just look at the poor chinese internet users, they can't even get google!!!

Paul.