According to a recent survey by ComputerWorld, around forty percent of the population believe that people can increase their political power by going online. Therefore, many academics believe that people in Western societies are becoming more and more tech savvy in order to gain more influence in the political sector. For example Mr. Jeffrey Cole, a director at the University of Southern California, said: “This year, 6% of typical internet users said they had their own blog, 16% said they posted pictures on the web, and over 10% maintained their own site. In 2003, 3% of Internet users reported blogging, 11% posting photos, and less than 9% maintaining websites.” (ComputerWorld, 2005: 1) So the question many people are asking is, “Is that Internet a democratic and participatory human society for the future?”
Mr. Cole agrees that the Internet plays an important role in creating a more just society that encourages participatory development. He argues that because the younger generation can communicate effectively through Internet forums, they are bolder in voicing their political opinions online. Young people also have the opportunity to meet older and more experienced people, such as B. university professors or people who have specialized in discussion areas to go into scientific discussions. Therefore, the Internet has clearly demonstrated its usefulness in terms of educating the younger generation for the future. However, the positive benefits that can be gained from using the Internet do not only extend to young citizens, but also have an impact on those who are employed and want to learn more about their country’s political system.
Research has shown that many Americans “surf” the Internet ahead of the federal election to learn more about political parties and politics. Mr. Cole stated: “The Internet is no longer a marginal force in American politics – it is fast becoming a central force in empowering the electorate” (ComputerWorld, 2005:1). For example, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean’s electoral success was largely thanks to the internet, where online donations and lobbying were used to ensure people were properly informed of party politics.
Although many argue that a person needs a certain level of knowledge and expertise before they can effectively master the Internet and its search engines, due to the power of the Internet, these people also agree that new software and computer engineers are slowly changing the discourse of technology, to accommodate people who may not be technically savvy. While it is widely acknowledged that the cyber environment and the purposes for which the internet is used are constantly changing in line with the needs of today’s society, obtaining information about political parties and their policies remains for internet users, particularly those living in the West live, one of the most important priorities mercosur digital.