Social Media, Alienation, and the Public Sphere

Abstract

This chapter builds on Habermas’ concept of the public sphere. It relates Habermas’ concept to Marx’ notion of alienation. A fusion of these two concepts is used for showing that digital capitalism and capitalist social media do not form a public sphere but rather constitute a danger to democracy. In contrast, a public service Internet is a manifestation of the digital public sphere and digital democracy. Internet platforms such as Facebook, which dominate the social media sector, are among the largest corporations in the world. Further, social media have become an integral part of politics and public communication. Right-wing politicians use Internet platforms for spreading propaganda and false news. The Arab Spring and the Occupy movements have shown that social media are important in social movements. No politician, party, NGO, or social movement can do without profiles on social media today. This raises the question of the connection between social media and the public. This article sheds light on this question. Section 2 presents a concept of the public sphere as a concept of critique. Section 3 uses the concept of the public sphere to criticize capitalist Internet platforms. Section 4 deals with the potentials of a public service Internet.