| Summary: | Faculty of Arts
School of Humanities
9407042h
grule@polka.co.za === The simplistic, optimistic view surrounding Internet discourse suggests that because of
the Net's ability to quickly and cheaply distribute vast amounts of information and
facilitate communication, citizens can use digital networks to influence decision-making
in society, which will lead to democratisation in communication. While there is indeed an
inherent interactive capacity in the technologies of new media that facilitates discussion
and debate, computer-mediated communication generally does not live up to the
democratic hype. More to the point, the discursive inequalities and exclusions that result
from the uneven distribution of power in society tend to be reproduced in the online
environment.
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