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Originally Posted by JackSpratts
ok, so here we are three and a half years after mazer's post.
whatcha think - are netizens becoming a voting force in the us? certainly obama has fired up waves of non-voters recently, many of whom may be net users, but getting people out to the polls for a singular event does not necessarily a movement make.
i see politicians taking a bit more care before trampling technology, that the days of indiscriminately creating bills that favor old line business at the expense of online enterprise are passing, and that's good, but i'm not sure it's a reflection of the political power of net users as a block as much as it recognises the now-overwhelming movement of capital to the internet.
as the net itself becomes mainstream and more and more civilians find themselves routinely utilizing it as part of their daily lives the question becomes somewhat academic, but i nevertheless think it is relevant to those who formed the original core of modern users, and i consider everyone here in that group.
where then are we as napsterites, i.e. are we nappies who may not have previously participated politically now registered, voting and locally active, or are we about the same as before all this internet stuff took off, and more generally, have long time net users gained genuine political influence & are we using it to any meaningful effect?
- js.
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i think, as Americans grow up online, the net political community is getting absorbed by the country as a whole and will continue to do so. since netizens represent so many diverse political viewpoints, their impact as a voting force is diluted by their diversity.
as for myself, i was always an active voter so the net hasn't really impacted that...but i have a 17 y/o son who is far more engaged than i was at that age and is just itching to vote (tho unfortunately his 18th bday is a few days after the 2008 Prez Elections). this is a direct result of the net - not just by getting more info, but by interacting with other politically active people and stoking his interests. at his age, i could listen to the political discussion but not much more. the net allows my son to start and participate in political discussions and therefore become much more part of the process. i think this ultimately creates voters - we'll see in November.