The Importance Of Social Media

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For more than a decade, social media and information communication technology have been used to foster democratic practices. These advances have made it easier for citizens to have a voice in their government-to deliberate issues, organize around causes, and hold leaders responsible. In this article, the authors investigated "whether the type of discussions that citizens maintain in two of the most used social media channels managed by the White House-Facebook and YouTube-meet the necessary conditions for deliberative democracy" (1159).
The authors use the "conceptualized" form of deliberation called [incursive participation] by some scholars. refers to a particular sort of discussion between at least two individuals in which (1) the form of communication emphasizes the use of logic and reasoning instead of power or coercion, (2) this reasoned engagement focuses on a social or political issue through which participants are able to identify solutions to common problems, and (3) individuals are open to opinions and ideas expressed by others, and at the same time the communication between them is governed by rules of equality, symmetry and civility. (1160)
Ever since the invention of the internet, social media pundits predicted that this would enhance civic participation and deliberation by creating a space where citizens would be free to express their opinions. Yet some have raised concerns that the lack of identifiability, anonymity, and the absence of social cues online