Social Networking Services in Service of Democracy – Chosen Case Studies

Małgorzata Laskowska

doi:10.29333/ojcmt/2458

Abstract

The author undertook to define the role of the social networking services and their meaning for democracy, especially in those countries lacking democracy. At the beginning of this analysis the following questions were formulated: To what extent are the social networking media able to change and/or create democracy? What possibilities for the citizens do they offer? What characterizes a community created by the social networking services? How permanent and valuable is it in the context of the quest for democracy and its strengthening? Answering these questions shall allow for making conclusions precious particularly for those who would like to make use of social networking services in order to promote democratic values.

Highlights

The beginnings of democracy date back to 6th century B.C. and it first appeared in Greece
The aim of this article is to try answering the questions: What is the value of the social networking services in the context of media and political systems? How do these services influence the politics and media? To what extent are the social networking services able to change and/or create democracy? What possibilities for the citizens do they offer? What is their role in the political communication? How is democracy understood in the age of the Internet? What are the elements characterizing a community created and maintained by social networking services? In order to answer these questions, first the focus was put on defining the notion of social networking services, which is clear and unequivocal
The analysis of the social networking services value in the context of democracy showed that these services can have real influence on the political moods, and in consequence on the particular decisions and actions

Summary

Introduction

The beginnings of democracy date back to 6th century B.C. and it first appeared in Greece. The term “democracy” consists of two words: demos (people) and “kratein” (to rule), referring to ”rule of the people”. There are two ways of thinking about this notion. First of them applies to defining a political system of a country in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by all of them, while the other refers to the way in which the democratic system functions, based on the rules of freedom, equality, justice and development possibilities (Król, 1989: 5; Zwoliński, 2010). People start to ask questions about the understanding of democracy in the era of the new media

Objectives

Findings

Conclusion