The Impact of Social Media on Society and Democracy

7/31/2019 The Impact of Social Media on Society and Democracy

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Kathryn Corrick 2012

Kathryn CorrickThe Foundation for Science & Technology,Royal Society, 11 July 2012

What impact has social mediahad on society and democracy?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Anonymous_at_Scientology_in_Los_Angeles.jpg


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Whats changed?


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Networks & ReachCommunications are less limited by state borders*

* Whilst proxy servers are used by some to get around state internetblocks we still cannot say there is complete freedom of access toinformation or communication.Language is also often still a barrier both technically and culturally.When did you last read a newspaper in French, let alone Mongolian?


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Accessibility & Usability

One upside of theweb is thateveryone

has a printing press.

One downside:

everyonehas aprinting press.Peter Kafka

http://statigr.am/viewer.php#/detail/184686624347714671_1985188

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100304/exclusive-on-the-internet-no-one-knows-

your-story-is-make-believe/?mod=ATD_rss


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Speed and near real-timecommunications

A lie can run round the world before thetruth has got its boots on.

- Terry Pratchett, The Truth


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Its very easy to record and store

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Transistor_Count_and_Moore's_Law_-_2011.svg


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Extensive corporate involvement inpublic discourse


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What hasnt changed?


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How easily we

forget history


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The ability to find a needle in a haystack(a metal detector and a magnet help but)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcorrick/6127546354/sizes/l/in/

set-72157627624111278/


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But more importantly

People


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We still want to love

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcorrick/5636054238/sizes/l/in/set-72157626510561474/


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And be loved



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We want to keep in touch



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And protect our families



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Earn a living



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And have fun

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcorrick/2792525747/sizes/m/in/set-72157602918568349/


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Feel part of something bigger



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And change the world



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We also desire power andsometimes absolute power.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcorrick/2812537220/sizes/o/in/photostream/


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For all these activities (and more) we use or try tocontrol the tools available to us inc. social media.

http://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-marketing-landscape-

complicated-2012-5


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Frames to understand whats going on


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In the UK we have recentlyseen a loss of moralauthority, across:

Parliament

Banks and financial institutions

Police

Media

The Church

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcorrick/2812537220/sizes/o/in/photostream/


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Libertarian v Authoritarian

Rather than Left v Right


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A re-evaluation and use of Marx

How we understandcapital human andmaterial

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7477245@N05/6293033342/sizes/l/in/photostream/


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Hacker and hacktavist culture

http://www.flickr.com/photos/home_of_chaos/5287303391/sizes/l/in/photostream/


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Consensus politicsPopularised by the Occupy movement

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcorrick/6249466456/sizes/l/in/photostream/


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So the impact of social mediaon society and democracy?


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Our use of technology and socialmedia is a reflection of ourhumanity and society

What kind of society and democracy dowe want reflected?


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Further reading

Consent of the Networked by RebeccaMcKinnon

The Revolution Will Be Digitised by HeatherBrooke

The Net Delusion: how not to liberate theworld by Evgeny Morozov

Barefoot into Cyberspace by Becky Hogge Inside Wikileaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg Flat Earth News by Nick Davies Communication Power by Manuel Castells


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Thank you

Kathryn Corrickwww.kathryncorrick.co.uk

Twitter - @kcorrick

[email protected]

The Impact of Social Media on Society and Democracy

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