Does the internet influence democracy?

This week we asked the question: Does the Internet Influence Democracy?

EF Academy Oxford A2 student Anastasiya Lankina provides an insightful response employing a scientific frame of analysis:

Having a scientifically orientated mindset myself, I think it is very important to use a systematic and logistic approach in the analysis of questions like this. In order to do that, first of all, it is essential to determine what is meant by the main terms in the actual question. In other words, to give separate definitions  for “The Internet” and “Democracy”, further using them and other well-established facts to justify any conclusions.

Let’s start with “Democracy”.  According to Cambridge English Dictionary, it has two similar but quite distinctive meanings – “the belief in freedom and equality between people” and “the system of government based on this belief”. Therefore, as well as being a political term, democracy is often used as a synonym for “presence of justice” and “absence of inequality”. It is quite obvious that currently we are living in the most “equal” era of human history. It does not imply that the ultimate equality is reached – there are numerous examples of racial, social, gender and other stereotypes that even today affect people’s lives dramatically. However, the increasing awareness of these problems is the key to their successful solution. Democracy can be seen as an asymptote that we as a society reach step by step. This process is infinite, as more and more small oppressed voices are heard every day, but it’s not about the destination – it’s about continuing the journey, making progress every day and not hitting a plateau. Moving forward, erasing ignorance of the majorities and making voices of the minorities heard – that’s the true meaning behind the idea of democracy.

Moving on to “The Internet” – the phenomenon that is sometimes compared to the invention of the wheel in its significant consequences in human history. We as a generation born throughout the 1990s are the first one to be affected by its enormous power (the World Wide Web as we know it was invented in 1990). We were also lucky enough to see the Internet develop and establish itself as a social necessity. It is defined as “a vast computer network linking smaller computer networks worldwide” by Dictionary.com. A tool used to connect people worldwide and open access to the never-ending and growing global pool of information, the Internet affected the fast-spreading noosphere of the 21st century more than anything else. With it, our world became smaller – it is difficult to put in words the fascination with the fact that today you can easily make friends with a person you were fatally separated a century ago. It is that scary power of globalization and interconnection that makes the Internet so influential.

There is still one major term in the original question that has not yet been fully explained. “Influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something”, says Oxford English Dictionary. It is now possible to break down the initial thesis to “Are the fast-growing worldwide connections affecting the process of establishing the ideas about equality among people?” and “Is the tool of making the world smaller and more aware of itself helping to hear more small and/or oppressed voices?”

The answer is definitely yes. The Internet expands one’s capability of information sharing, hence having a positive effect on their freedom of speech, which is one of the fundamental principles of democracy.

P.S. – It could be also interesting to use large amounts of historical data to prove the same point, but then this analysis would become too political and could raise more questions than can be answered. I am not a history student and do not consider myself competent enough to judge on that matter. Also, assumptions made to fit empirical data are not always as accurate as a separate testing of the hypothesis behind it. I would only add that at the same time as the Internet started off, a number of countries changed its political system to democracy. It is not completely clear whether those changes were caused by the same factors, vastly developing online network being one of them. As well as that, there are some countries in the modern world that have Internet usage restrictions. Coincidentally enough, their governments are not democracy-directed.