Digital Political Participation, Social Networks and Big Data

Download or read book Digital Political Participation, Social Networks and Big Data written by José Manuel Robles-Morales and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-09-18 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the changes in political communication in light of the development of a public opinion mediated by web 2.0 technologies. One of the most important changes in political communication is related to the process of disintermediation, i.e. the process by which digital technologies allow citizens to compete in the public space with those agents who, traditionally, co-opted public opinion. However, while disintermediation has undeniably generated a number of advances, having linked citizens to the public debate, the authors highlight some aspects where disintermediation is moving away from a rational and inclusive public space. They argue that these aspects, related to the immediacy, polarization and incivility of the communication, obscure the possibilities for democratization of digital political communication.