ABSTRACT

The optimists emphasize the alternate channels of civic engagement that the Internet offers for the involvement of ordinary citizens in direct democracy. It is rather prudent to promote conditions within the media under which such movements can achieve more influence and effectiveness. The Internet is currently developing and changing at such a fast pace that any analysis about its impact on our lives risks being dated even before the people have time to draw appropriate conclusions. The Internet holds the prospects of a new kind of public sphere and thus potentially a new form of democracy. The fact that the Internet offers the opportunity for the creation of such a vast amount of (mis)information, along with the fact that it cannot be controlled like other media, calls for more vigilance. The Internet is not a panacea for the problems facing society, but it definitely offers the opportunity to fight the issues and protest freely.