Essay Sample on the Effectiveness of the Internet

With the introduction of the new technology, many people have and continue to enjoy the freedom of expression as well as involvement in social affairs given the fact that the internet mostly acts as the genuine platform that helps voices of grassroots. The internet has the potential to pass information through either picture, texts, audio or even video. The internet also provides the freedom for people to interact and even unite social movements from far off countries enabling them to speak or seek support. In this case, it is convincing to argue that the internet facilitates or even incites actions in an effective manner as compared to traditional media and a more reason why many types of research have been done to validate the effectiveness of this tool of technology. Because of the research was done by Jodi Dean on Communicative Capitalism, Dean is explicit to argue in line with statement# two a fact on the internet has increased the freedom of expression and people's involvement in social affairs.

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In the chapter talking about "Technology, The Promises of Communicative Capitalism" Dean argues that the mainstream media did not cover or provide as much information as the people needed regarding the invasion of Iraq. This implies that the independent media took it upon itself to get information and report it to the people regardless of the effect. Furthermore, Anti-war activists clearly understood that the only way to reach the public is to embrace the use of the internet, in this case; fax, emails, and websites where they could post their arguments and training sessions. From this argument, it is clear that Dean is in agreement with statement #2 on the effectiveness of the internet in increasing freedom of speech.

Arguably, Dean's research is evident to converge as well as contradict with the statement# 2 in various ways. For instance, he argues in line with the statement through a fantasy of abundance. Those people who believe in the concept of fantasy of abundance talk about the wealth of information that can be communicated on the internet and how the information reaches multiple people all around the globe. It means people are free to pass any form of information with the aim of reaching a wider audience without any hindrance or restriction. On page 27, Dean says, "... democratic practices emphasize the wealth of information available on the internet and the inclusion of millions upon millions of voices or points of view into "the conversation" or public sphere." Notably, Dean's research shows how the media fail to facilitate political resistance due to the conditions and regulations put in place to control the information that is passed unto the people. The media is selective in the intensity of the content and how people will be affected. For instance, it is clear on page 24 where Dean says, "Political efficacy of networked media depends on the setting." In this case, it is only through the internet where all kinds of information can be passed without fear of the damage or content affecting the people. It further implies that communication has been revolutionized in the sense that people can give their views regarding any topic and still view comments or ideas from others.

However, it is also argued that Dean's research contradicts statement #2 as evident in the chapter on "The Fantasy of Wholeness: A Global Zero Institution. According to Dean, people live in a fantasy or rather assume that all the actions on the internet are significant and can make differences. In the real sense, the fantasy only animates our sense in that we tend to believe that once the message is online, then it will reach most people all around the globe. However, "zero institution" best explains how the internet imagines the global. It says on page 42 that, "A zero institution is an empty signifier. It has no determinate meaning but instead signifies the presence of meaning. It is an institution with no positive function". Additionally, Dean supports this argument on page 43 by saying, "The internet is not a wide-open space with nodes and links to nodes dis-hits as any other site."