The Influence of Modern-day 'Digital democracy' in The 'Public Sphere' Horizon

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Source: Delft Design For Value, 2018 



Social media has always been a platform for people to share ideas without needing to show their identity. In this modern era, it is relatively impossible not to have any social media. A study by Pew (2018, cited in Kruse et al. 2018) found that half of the U.S population, with 80 percent of the young adults, used social media.

The wide range of internet access allows people to connect through the public sphere, which defined by Habermas ([1989] 1991:27 cited in Kruse et al. 2018) as “a place where ‘private people come together as a public’ to use reason to further critical knowledge which, in turn, leads to political change. However, the public sphere was barely hard to thrive in modernity due to money influence in mass media interest Habermas ([1989] 1991, cited in Kruse et al. 2018). Nonetheless, the widespread of networked information and more significant opportunity for public speech through the Internet has revitalized the public sphere (Shirky 2011:29 cited in Kruse et al. 2018).

Digital democracy is a practice of democracy applied in digital media by online and offline political communication (Hacker and Van Dijk 2000). Everyone has an immense opportunity to become politically active by political participation through expressing an opinion on how the world is governed and contribute to the decisions that will influence their lives (Khasnabis et al. n.d.). Political education is one factor of political activities that can be accessed (Akmal 2018). According to Akmal (2018), the widespread of internet access has allowed the young generation to receive information, and engage political activities through contributing political activities offered such as the polls. Political issues such as the increase in fuel price, the arrest of KPK members, the election of DKI governor, etc. are embedded with online petitions where the public can voice their opinion (ibid.).

Contrarily, according to Hindman (2008) observation, the concentration and participation on the Internet are beyond expectation compared to the traditional media, which results in a concentrated space that allows people to voice easily but being harder to be heard.

The drawbacks of unlimited access for everyone to contribute to political discourse, with politics being a divisive topic, the potency of social media to evoke disputation is irresistible (Khruse et al. 2018). The liberation of speech has made various misconception and public deception. These unethical factors will then lead to division and disharmony, which might strike back the government.

Reference lists:

Hacker KL and Van Dijk J A.G.M. (2000), ‘What Is Digital Democracy?’, Digital Democracy: Vision and Reality, Sage, pp. 1-9.


Akmal M (2018), 'The Roles of Digital Democracy on Political Education for Young Generation', Proceedings of MICoMS 2017 (Emerald Reach Proceedings Series, Vol. 1), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 43-48.


Kruse LM, Norris DR and Flinchum JR (2018) ‘Social Media as a Public Sphere? Politics on Social Media’, The Sociological Quarterly, 59(1):62-84, DOI: 10.1080/00380253.2017.1383143


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