Democracy Today

This week we discussed democracy, and how it has changed in the 21st century. How do you participate in democracy? Is democracy dead?

The main question at hand is whether our digital era has played a part in the way we participate in democracy. Personally, I feel that our democratic system does not allow for a personal voice. I do not see how voting for a representative to relay information is being democratic...how many times does one vote for a representative because of what they "stand for", and yet most of the time those "promises" usually do not follow through. I feel like voting does not really matter because at the end of the day politicians will do whatever they want. This is where the internet can come in handy. The public is finding new, interactive ways to express their voice. Social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook etc are being used as forms of citizen expression. People want their voices to be heard and quickly, and like we have seen previously, these platforms can spread messages like wildfire.
I definitely think that people are participating in democracy differently these days and we will see a big change in the near future.

What do you guys think?

Introduction

This blog will be used to bring forth discussions from my fourth year seminar class in relation to citizen media and new media. This blog will be a virtual gateway into the interesting subject matter we cover in class. I hope it will facilitate others to comment and discuss, as most of what will be discussed is related to our everyday lives.