The Freedom to Speak

Living in a representative democracy, we as citizens are able to participate in and discuss freely current events. We are able to respond to our local, state and federal representatives through the internet and tell them what we think about them and their latest speeches. Keeping this in mind, it’s interesting to think of the internet as a type of public sphere where it can be considered as a place people can speak openly. We don’t seem to worry too much about their reactions because we’re hiding behind a screen and can create individual identities. As said in the lecture, everything you do on the internet can be traced back to you one way or another but because people either don’t know this or believe it, they feel free to speak freely. Direct messaging to people that would otherwise be impossible to contact is getting bigger with social networks like twitter and facebook. Even when the Queensland floods started happening, channel nine urged people to post their stories on their facebook page. The media is starting to understand the importance of the internet as a news source to gather information that may or may not be accurate but tend to still use it anyway. The internet has advanced to the point were you can be part of an important discussion or event without having to be anyone in particular. It allows normal people to make an impact on current events and let their voices be heard.