What Happens After the Click? Role of Internet Information in Shaping Democratic Values

The concept of democracy and the one that internet works on are extremely similar in nature. Particularly the freedom of expression and the notion of equality makes internet is an inherently democratic medium. This paper discusses the issues surrounding democracy and the internet by examining the relationship between the two. While the internet has many elements which can be extremely beneficial to democratic societies, such as access to information and broadening communication, these benefits are not qualities inherent to the internet; rather, they are outcomes of the context and cultures in which the internet based technologies are developed and placed. Equally, the negative aspects of the internet’s nature, such as encouragement of the digital divide, and the potential for developing lynch-mob mentalities, are dependent on who is using the technology and how it is used.