The Impact of Internet on Politics
Impact of Internet on Politics The use of internet in the 2004, and most recently in the 2008 elections was so huge due to its role. The internet has significantly changed the political process because it allowed candidates and voters to connect and gain access to political process in a fashion not previously available. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and candidates own social networking sites, such as Senator Barack Obama's MyBarackObama.com and Senator John McCain's McCainspace, were used during the 2008 presidential elections campaign to connect to the voters, raise funds, post campaign ads, organize meetings. This usage of the internet has enhanced the degree of participation of interested ordinary citizens and small interest groups in politics. It also gave the average citizen the opportunity to be engaged politically via airing opinion on platforms including YouTube, iTunes, and Facebook by uploading personal videos in support of or against a candidate. Based on the result of the research by Pew Internet & American Life project on the role of internet in the 2008 elections, " Some 74% of internet users--representing 55% of the entire adult population--went online in 2008 to get involved in the political process or to get news and information about the election.” These statistics are an indication of internet influence on the political process because it allowed and made it easier for more people to participate in political activities. In recent years, blog sites have been the avenue for political discourse on the internet, they have reshaped the way politician, and the populace approached the political process. Candidates are now turning to the use of blog as evident during the 2008 presidential election, when all candidates maintained a blog site, for example, Senator Hillary