The internet is a powerful tool, with its uses extending beyond the realms of entertainment. It can be used for formal purposes too. Increasingly, it is becoming common for government agencies to utilize the internet too for garnering support through feedback platforms for instance. However, there are some cases now of the internet being used for political agendas.
This comes as no surprise to me because of two reasons. Firstly, political campaigns aimed at gaining supporters need to reach out to as many individuals in society as they can, and the internet is the fastest medium to do so. The second reason is that the internet is interactive, especially when compared to traditional mass media like television and the radio which are examples of one-way communication. Channels for feedback and comments give people a sense of empowerment. The internet provides a feasible avenue for this. It is also a great strategy to reach out to the youths in society, for it is no secret that the most frequent users of the internet come from the teen and young adult population of the general public. Speaking about the youth, those in Singapore have become rather apathetic to political issues in recent times. One explanation I can offer for this trend is that they feel that the government in Singapore is autocratic and would not take feedback seriously anyway, and do only enough to appease those who are voicing their opinions.
Now on the other hand, the internet is a relatively new medium for the art of politics invade, and therefore many questions and limitations are present as well. For starters, people are always skeptical about the content that is posted on the internet because of the amount of “rubbish” on the web today. People may not take political campaigns too seriously in that sense if it were promoted on the internet solely without accompanying use of other media such as television and print ads. The internet also would not be able to reach a particular section of society – the elderly. Many of them do not know how to use the internet, either they no longer have the learning capacity or they refuse to learn to begin with. With life expectations always on the rise, the aged population will only get larger and their inaccessibility to the internet is a major drawback to the usage of the internet for political purposes.
This comes as no surprise to me because of two reasons. Firstly, political campaigns aimed at gaining supporters need to reach out to as many individuals in society as they can, and the internet is the fastest medium to do so. The second reason is that the internet is interactive, especially when compared to traditional mass media like television and the radio which are examples of one-way communication. Channels for feedback and comments give people a sense of empowerment. The internet provides a feasible avenue for this. It is also a great strategy to reach out to the youths in society, for it is no secret that the most frequent users of the internet come from the teen and young adult population of the general public. Speaking about the youth, those in Singapore have become rather apathetic to political issues in recent times. One explanation I can offer for this trend is that they feel that the government in Singapore is autocratic and would not take feedback seriously anyway, and do only enough to appease those who are voicing their opinions.
Now on the other hand, the internet is a relatively new medium for the art of politics invade, and therefore many questions and limitations are present as well. For starters, people are always skeptical about the content that is posted on the internet because of the amount of “rubbish” on the web today. People may not take political campaigns too seriously in that sense if it were promoted on the internet solely without accompanying use of other media such as television and print ads. The internet also would not be able to reach a particular section of society – the elderly. Many of them do not know how to use the internet, either they no longer have the learning capacity or they refuse to learn to begin with. With life expectations always on the rise, the aged population will only get larger and their inaccessibility to the internet is a major drawback to the usage of the internet for political purposes.
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