Culture of Participation

The internet has created a culture of involved citizens. People are finding it easier and easier to actively participate in governmental issues. “The avenue to be opened by the online media is expected to be a path that leads to a more vibrant form of citizen participatory democracy” (Woo-Young, Chang). I really feel that the rapid growth of participatory democracy will change our society for the better. “An important novelty brought about by online journalism is the renovation in production and circulation of messages and this in turn promotes public discussions in which citizens participate more actively” (Woo-Young, Chang). Issues will become more public and decisions will be made by more people than just those sitting in the office. It will also make political decisions a quicker process because of the almost instantaneous receipt of internet messages. “The newly enabled diversification places online journalism in an antithetical position vis-a-vis traditional journalism, which has tended to standardize methods of message transmission and the relationship between senders and recipients of messages” (Woo-Young, Chang).