E-lections by Falck, Gold, and Heblich - Literature review Example

A Report on E-lections by Falck, Gold, and Heblich (2012) Student’s Name Course Tutor Institution Date of Submission A Report on E-lections by Falck, Gold, and Heblich (2012) Abstract According to Falck, Gold, and Heblich, the internet has created a 2% reduction in the voter turnout percentage. The authors cite that the internet is facing out the print media, which often serves as a very credible source of information. According to them, the internet does not have tangible information. The authors further illustrate that the lack of information affects the voting blocs hence the reducing voter turnout. However, this projection fails to recognize that the internet has a very large database and serves in ways that are more comprehendible and faster as opposed to print media. Ideally, the voter turnout, as is evidenced in Britain, has been gradually increasing since 2001. This proposition disproves of Falck, Gold, and Heblich’s projection. This paper’s focus is to disprove of Falck, Gold, and Heblich’s propositions. To realize this objective, it uses the projections that have been witnessed across Europe as well as in the US. Introduction According to Falck, Gold, and Heblich (2012, 2), the internet does not favor politics; there is no evidence that the internet benefits party politics. Falck, Gold, and Heblich (2012, 2) further proceeds to point out that the internet acquired status as the facet of mass media is characteristically similar to the introduction of the TV to the masses in the 1950s and 1960s in which case there was a perceived drop of 2% in the voter turnout. This projection is because the internet in its dominance, is crowding out other forms of media that always have greater depth of information. For instance, a newspaper is considered by Bimber (1999, 410) to be capable of running rounds on a subject and creating a podium for making sure that a specified piece of information is shared, examined, tested, proved or disproven, and shared again. While this may seem realistic to several factions, it sires contradicting questions; how exactly is this true? What magnitude of information is shared in the internet or lost as a result of the internet’s dominion? Bimber (2003, 37) illustrated that the internet has created an era that is cheaper and easier to operate in. He gave an illustration of a case study in 1998 in which a parent whose 10-year-old daughter had contracted cancer and wanted to get informed she that she would understand her better. In her account of details, she had to visit a public library and pick every book titled brain tumor as she browsed for information that would inform her about her daughter’s condition. Ideally, this was a technical process and in as much as it is political, it highlights the extremes to which it was challenging to get the sought of information from the print media. Even in televised campaigns, it was challenging to get the information when one needed it except when the media felt it was earn them viewership or an audience (Norris 2002, 75). These days, however, information is stored in the internet and button clicks surface the right content that individuals may desire. There is also the role of the social media. It is notable that every political figure that deems it fit to communicate and garner an audience that would listen to them at any time of the day and boundlessly share their attributes has a social media profile. Bimber (2003, 52) quoted, ‘the internet has become politics and politics the internet.’ By this, he implied that their a relationship that has developed between the two that now makes them inseparable, a factor that again leads us to the questions; is the internet ideally affecting voter turnout? Is it ideally affecting the availability of information? A commonly referred to instance in the history of politics is that of the American President Barack Obama whose candidacy took the world by storm. Ideally, the internet made Obama more popular to the world than he would ever been. Google cited that on average basis, there are always a million references to Obama either in articles posted in the internet or in debates and forums in the internet per day. This projection highlights a factor that obviously supersedes the impact of print and visual media. In 2008, Obama raised $778,000,000 for his campaigns majorly through the internet. This led to his accreditation as a figure who effectively used the internet for campaigns and even relied upon it for an increased voter turnout. The psychologist Wallace (2001, 97) who studied generational differences explained that of all the voting generations, it is only the millennial generation that can be effectively reached out to through the internet. Ideally, in the past, it had been common that the younger generations were less concerned about politics but rather with trends and other less significant issues to nation building processes. Even today, they are considered as the voting bloc that has not been exploited. While the enigma has been how to create a podium for luring them into politics, the internet provided just that. The countless political information that is constantly shared over the internet has served in luring this generation into politics and more often than not, candidates, analysts, and even governments seek their opinion over political subjects. This factor points out to a likelihood of an increased voter turnout percentage, a factor that contradicts Falck, Gold, and Heblich’s propositions. This dissertation is purposed to disprove of Falck, Gold, and Heblich’s proposition that the internet has affected voter turnout by proving that instead, voter turnout has improved because of the internet. Literature Review In the publication titled The Internet and political participation: exploring the explanatory links, Polat (2005, 450) examined the benefits of the internet to the current world. He cited that by enhancing globalization, the internet has facilitated aspects like economic growth and development, political transformation, and even social and professional connectivity. According to him, the internet has laid the foundation for understanding the world better by availing information and creating a podium on which persons can easily reach other. He proceeded to cite how persons in the 21st century know many aspects that had previously been confined to education environments. Levine (2003, 73), who specifically covered politics, illustrated that the internet has made everything in politics bare; no longer can politicians surprise the public with antics as their moves are always anticipated. Besides, no politician can use measures that are unwanted by the public without facing countermeasures from the public through the internet. According to him, this has become a possibility as people can share information that express disdain and even express themselves so well that the millions of users of the internet side with them. A consequent of such corporation in the social media and other platforms and forums in the internet always sires debates and the creation and strengthening of opinion that influences voting (Conway 2000, 56). Norris (2009, 64) and Kamarck and Nye (2012, 65)collectively explained that awareness on political processes like voter registration, election primaries, candidates and their political profiles including weaknesses and strengths, as well as the voting dates have been made more accessible by the internet. To this effect, he illustrated that persons no longer have to sit as they wait for advertisements that are run at specific times and on specific days to get such vital information. This projection that disproves of Falck, Gold, and Heblich’s proposition that the internet has less information and, therefore, creates a population mindset that is under-informed and less focused on voting. In the article the Revolution, what revolution? The Internet and U.S. elections, Norris (2002, 45) illustrated that significance of the internet as a political tool is witnessed in hits use by states, politicians, and bloggers as a resource for disseminating political information or attaining the status of ‘political correctness’. To this effect, he illustrated that gaining a major position in the internet is a factor that can strengthen a political idea and make it more appealing scours in manners that were not possible before. The combination of these factors illustrates that the internet has been vital in transforming politics and increasing the voter turnout. Falck, Gold, and Heblich’s measures were, therefore, not focused on evaluating the right precepts about the influence of the internet on politics and voter turnout. Research Design and Procedure Voting Classes Political genomes, as we described by Norris (2009, 45), are always based on the generational classifications. This ideology is focused on the ways in which the different generations comprehend and classify political information and their reactions to political subjects. The most prominent generations in politics are the baby boomers (born between 1946- 1964), the generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) and the generation y/millennials (born between 1981- 2000). The significance of these classifications is to idealize the voter turnout as it has been over the past 15 years. This measure will ideally help with the clarification of the impact of the internet on voter turnout as, over the fifteen years, the use of the internet has become more and more prominent. Use of Internet across the Classes The Internet has been used to various accords by the stated generations. According to Bimber (1999, 410), the Baby Boomers and the Gen Ys often use it for corporate and business purposes. The Millennials, on the other hand, often use it for purposes that range from social, political, economic, and entertainment. That implies that, unlike the previous two generations, they are the generation that prefers the internet as their primary source of information. Collecting and projecting the right statistics would help in idealizing the percentage of voters who use the internet thus creating a podium for analyzing if the internet has ideally affected their interests in politics and their voting interests as well. Use of the Internet by Politicians and Electoral Bodies Ideally, there has been an increased use of the internet by politicians to various accords. Besides, electoral bodies continually use it a podium for communicating vital aspects about elections and calling on persons to register as voters. Though this aspect that does not directly illuminate the effect f of the internet on voter turnout, it highlights the significance of the internet in politics, which is why politicians and the electoral bodies regard it is so highly as a political tool. Analyzing the trend of the internet usage amongst these parties would help in idealizing the extremes to which the internet propagates the availability of information. Voting Trends Voting during the 20th century was cumbersome. Despite the measures that were taken, there was little information that could be used to guide voters and individuals who aspired to register as voters. However, as Polat (2005, 450) noted, there has been a change in the way persons vote as gradually, the voter turnout, especially in Europe and the US, has been increasing. Though some aspects of this have been credited to the increasing populations, other aspects also relate to the efficacy with which information is shared. Studying the voting trends would, therefore, help with drawing lucid clarifications about the developments that have resulted since the internet gained dominion as the most preferred form of media and medium of communication. In a sense, it would help with drawing clarifications as to whether the propositions that have been made by Falck, Gold, and Heblich (2012, 6) about the reduced voter turnout are true or are unfounded. Ideally, this would form the basis of the study by illuminating the research trajectory. Results Users of Internet Fig 1 The figure illustrates how the internet is used, specifically in the US, a nation that has made the internet a core principal amongst their political tools. This kind of trend was noted by Kamarck and Nye (2012, 65) to similar to most nations across Europe. For instance, Britain’s citizens affiliated to the three dominant parties who use the internet are valued at 65%, just 4% less of the American projection. These statistics highlight the significant role that internet has assumed as a type of media. Voter Percentage across the Generations The majority of the voting population lies in the generation X which is the followed by the Millenials and baby boomers in that order. The fact that the millennial generation lags behind the generation X is because some of them who were born between 1998 and 2000 have not yet reached the maturity age for voting depending on their country’s policies. The baby boomers are the least as some of a significant number have been lost to death. Besides, they were not born in the other conditions in which the other were born. Polat (2005, 451) stated that the generations born after the baby boomers have always been more in numbers. The graph below illustrates by percentage, the voting populations across the three generations: Fig 2 Campaign Coverage on the Influence of Age and Type of Media Ideally, just as Falck, Gold, and Heblich (2012, 3) illustrated, the influence of the print media is gradually petering. However, this factor only affects the millennial generations. As is indicated in the figure below, the other two generations integrate print media, TV, and the internet quite well. Though the internet is pushing out the print media, it compensates for it for a wider array of readily available information. The following figure is a graphical representation of how the different generations consume campaign coverage: Fig 3 How the Millennials Use the Internet for Political Affairs Fig 4 Considering that they are the generation that is most inclined toward the use of internet, it is important to cover how they use the internet for politics and from the figure above, it is clear that the millennial generations have varied uses for the internet in relation to politics. These are inclusive of promoting political material, encouraging participation in politics, sharing and posting thoughts on political matters, calling for political action, following politicians on social media and making declarations about political affiliations. Statistics of Participation in Politics and Voting as is Influenced by the Internet Fig 5 The figure above is an illustration of the voter turnout in Britain since 1945 to 2015. Focusing on 2001- 2015 (when the internet eventually took course as a major type of media), it is notable that has been a steady increase in the voter turnout. This is a projection contradicts the proposition that was made by Falck, Gold, and Heblich (2012, 6) when they stated that voter turnout has been on the decline as the availability of information has been largely restricted by the internet that only has ‘partial’ information. Discussion The above results show that there has been an increase in the numbers of internet users and that the highest populations of generations use it the most are the millennials, a generation that for a long time, has been known as uninterested in politics. Considering the projection that highlights how they significantly use the internet and social media for political purposes, it becomes clear that ideology that the millennials are uninterested in politics has been reversed. More importantly, it is notable that the generation is informed about political aspects and are, therefore, just as inclined as the others to participate in elections. This is a factor also based on the illustration that was earlier covered that unlike the pre-internet era, there is a lot of information that is readily available on the internet hence the deduction that even the populations that spend their time on the internet are informed. The significance of this projection is that it illustrates the importance of the internet in inspiring a new voting bloc to participate in election. This factor highlights that there has been a rise in the voter turnout. Besides, unlike Falck, Gold, and Heblich’s propositions, it indicates that the internet is a resource of information. The potential of the internet to influence politics is what has ideally influenced the political campaigns that are made over the internet. As illustrated in fig 3, the consumption of political campaigns on the internet averages at 85% across the three generations. This implies that unlike the pre-internet era, there is a podium through, which persons can easily respond to political ideologies, events, and calls. This further weakens the proposition that was made by Falck, Gold, and Heblich (2012, 5) about the internet’s negative influence on politics. According to figure 4, the voter turnout since 2001 has been steadily increasing. It is ideally notable that this is the period that Falck, Gold, and Heblich (2012, 4) illustrated to be when most nations stated enhancing the acquisition of internet broadband for private purposes. Though at the time internet’s use could not be associated with the millennials who are its heaviest users as they were too young, the projection that at the time the voter turnout had already started increasing directly reverses Falck, Gold, and Heblich’s proposition about a reducing voter turnout. It is even notable that in 2008 in the US, the voter turnout for the national elections rose to a significant 58% which much more than the previous election’s 37%. Bimber (2001, 55) explained that voter reaction is dependent on the communication levels that are realized both by the political candidates as well as the electoral bodies. That implies that the effective use of the internet, as has been seen in the recent past, should enhance voter turnout as opposed to reducing it. Though this research leant on highlighting the internet’s influence through the millennial generation as they are the most active internet users, even the other generations acutely use the internet, a projection illustrated in fig 3 in which no generation has a percentage below 85. However, these generations still read from print media as a supplement to the internet. That implies that even the proposition that Falck, Gold, and Heblich (2012, 5) made that the internet has created a situation in which persons no longer refer to newspapers is not right. Ideally, the two generations in this make up 65% of the total voters as is projected in fig 2. That means that the information in the print media is always more likely to reach more than 50% of the voters. Besides, the internet features have created a podium for sharing the information that is on the print media on the internet as well. Renowned publications such as the New York Times, Guardian, BBC, and Daily Mail amongst others all run websites and profiles on the social media on which they share information published on their print wings. Conclusion Falck, Gold, and Heblich’s illustration that the internet has had an impact of 2% decrease in the voter turnout is not true. As has been idealized in the paper, the internet has ideally created a podium for connectivity and the sharing of information (Norris 2009, 46). The large populations that have been attracted to the internet value its resourceful database, which is why it is even pushing out the print media out of business, especially amongst the younger generations. These are the reasons for which it has attracted the usage of politicians and other politically related bodies. Ideally, as has been illustrated in figure 5, there has been an increase in the voter turnout as opposed to voter turnout decrease. References Bimber, B. (1999). The Internet and citizen communication with government: Does the medium matter? Political Communication, 16, 409-428. Bimber, B. (2001). Information and political engagement in America: The search for effects of information technology at the individual level. Political Research Quarterly, 54 (1), 53-67. Bimber, B. (2003). Information and American democracy: Technology in the evolution of political power. New York: Cambridge University Press. Conway, M. M. (2000). Political participation in the United States, (Fifth Ed.).Washington, DC: CQ Press. Falck, O., Gold, R., & Heblich, S. (2012). E-Lections: Voting Behavior and the Internet. http://ftp.iza.org/dp6545.pdf Kamarck, E. C. & Nye, J. S. Jr. (2002). Governance.com: Democracy in sthe information age (pp. 59-80) Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. Levine, P. (2003). Online campaigning and the public interest. Norris, P. (2002). Revolution, what revolution? The Internet and U.S. elections. Norris, P. (2009). Who surfs café Europa? Virtual democracy in the U. S. and Western Europe. Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.Atlanta, Georgia. Polat, R.(2005). “The Internet and political participation: exploring the explanatory links.” European Journal of Communication, 20 (4), 435-459. Wallace, P. M. (2001). The psychology of the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More