%0 Article, E-Article %A Breindl, Yana %I %D 2010 %C %D 2010 %G English %~ adlr.link - Literatur für Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaftler %T Critique of the Democratic Potentialities of the Internet: a Review of Current Theory and Practice %U http://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/159/165 %X "Many scholars have hailed the democratic potential of the internet. For some it empowers individuals and fosters genuine political discussions. For others, it is perceived as a threat, a Machiavellian tool that inevitably leads to increased State surveillance and monitoring of its citizens. After the turn of the century, a growing body of literature reveals the gap between the supposed democratic potentialities of the internet and the practices emerging in the field. This paper reviews recent literature on online activism and e-mobilization and argues that each potential conceals a continuum rather than a binary division. In order to deconstruct the democratic potential of the internet, we base this reflection upon the three axes proposed by Vedel (2007) for making sense of the political uses of the internet: information, discussion and mobilization. For each of these dimensions, one can find evidence of an empowering aspect of the technology as well as of how it poses new challenges to citizens. To name just one example, increased access to information can lead to a better informed citizenry but may also lead to issues of information overload and practices of disinformation." [Information des Anbieters] %Z https://katalog.adlr.link/Record/finc-80-15375 %U https://katalog.adlr.link/Record/finc-80-15375