By Bob Tedeschi
New York Times
Democracy is a form of government where the leader is chosen by popularity rather than the ability to run a country. The internet these days has one of the greatest affects towards the presidential campaign because its a place for advertisement and fan clubs. On the internet, many people like to express their views on McCain and Obama by using a multitude of creative ways to shout out their opinions. Sites such as the “Barack Obama Fan Club”, “McCain Fan Club”, or another popular site known as “YouTube”. People of todays generation tend to use the internet as their number one source for information, and people tend to want to vote for the most popular thing, or in this case, most popular candidate. Advertisement does have a huge impact on the mind of the voter because many are persuaded by the flashy signs and the outbursts of others.
Website advertisements have gotten more interesting to look at, so in another words, harder to ignore.
“Late last month, Chitika, an advertising company based in Marlborough, Mass., began testing eMiniMalls, a technology that scans a Web page, chooses a product the reader might be interested in, then displays banner ads that are miniature shopping comparison pages, with prices, product reviews and links to merchants.”
That quote was taken from the article I found on nytimes.com. The internet has the power to bring the attention of the viewer, because it catches their curiosity.
The internet and its effects fit into the historical context of technology and democracy in America because long ago, people felt more entitled to their own opinion. With the Lincoln and Douglas debates, people voted for the best of their country. They did not vote for who was “more popular” or “better looking” or “has cuter outfits”. Its as if our country’s notability is disappearing more and more with each coming generation.
No comments:
Post a Comment