Modern day internet and the World Wide Web have changed the way in which people come together to discuss ideas as well as the way in which information is shared amongst large groups of people.
In 1962, Jurgen Habermas published his first book, titled “Structural Transformation in the Public Sphere”. Habermas was a strong believer in democracy that developed in the 18th century; private people reading books and then coming together in local coffee houses to discuss ideas raised in the books. This became known as the ‘public’. From this idea, Habermas concludes that democracy is achieved as a result of formed opinions in public discussion. During this time, it was essential for the men to have a place to meet to form their opinions, Habermas stated in 1996, ‘Citizens act as a public when they deal with matters of general interest without being subject to coercion; thus with the guarantee that they may assemble and unite freely, and express and publicize their opinions freely’. However, nowadays, it is much easier to log on to the internet to discuss opinions with the public through online forums and social networking websites through web 2.0.
Web 2.0 is becoming increasingly popular and facilitates for interactive sharing of information. Increasing amounts of Web 2.0 sites have led to a greater increase of communication through online services, most popular being social networking websites such as facebook and myspace. The internet is the modern central hub for discussions, therefore proving it is the idealised version of Habermas’ Public Sphere. Lev Grossman, TIME magazine 2006, described web 2.0 as ‘a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes’.
In addition to this, the internet also allows communication through email, chat rooms, MUDs and news groups. These online areas allow people to discuss any topic of interest, which is another way in which this communication differs between that in the 18th century, as the meetings in coffee rooms were to discuss politics of the time. Nowadays, any topics can be discussed online though different forums, chat rooms and social networking sites. For example, the Web 2.0 service, youtube, can be used to share videos and discuss them through comments and reviews on the videos themselves or personal channels. This allows world wide communication over videos that interest different groups of people. Therefore, Web 2.0 is an idealised version of Habermas’ Public Sphere as it allows more people than in the 18th century to come together as equals; currently in 2009, 70% of households have internet access in their homes. This is an increase of 11% over the past year and this portrays that the internet is becoming increasingly popular, allowing more people to share information and opinions online.
Web 2.0 also allows Habermas;’ Public Sphere theory to work as Habermas intended everyone to discuss their ideas as equals. Online, judgments can not be made about other people who are in the discussions as personal appearance such as skin colour and race can not be seen, therefore, there is no discrimination and everyone can be treated equally. However, at a contrast to this, it is easy for people to pretend to be someone else, and therefore discussions may not be fully opinionated with beliefs and views if some people are not who they say they are. Therefore, in this way, Web 2.0 can be seen as a less idealised version of Habermas’ Public Sphere.
New Technology has led to a greater increase of internet users as it has become much more accessible. The internet can be now be accessed on laptops, mobile phones e.t.c. Some mobile phones also have ‘widget’s with bookmarked favourite sites such as social networking websites such as facebook; meaning quicker access to online web 2.0 sites. Back in the 18th century, for Habermas’ public sphere to work, people would have to have time to come together in a coffee house, whereas now, people can be traveling, in a different country or at work and still be able to participate in discussions, In addition to this, computers now have a faster connection to the internet. Therefore, this shows that the World Wide Web is an idealised version of the public Sphere.
Furthermore, Web 2.0 allows information to be edited and updated, allowing people to change their opinions and chat rooms and instant messaging services allow quick, life like chat. However, opinions can not be changed when said in speech at a discussion so it can be seen as a positive to be able to alter text after you have posted it online; websites such as wikipedia allow this.
The World Wide Web is now roughly 17 years old, it was first started in 1992, and over time, more people of different generations have come to use the internet as it has become less of a new technology and has become more of a central hub for discussion. Some countries suffer from internet black spots, where they do not have the technology to link to the internet, such as Africa, and so in these countries, discussions are held much like they were in the 198the century, like Habermas’ public sphere. In addition to this, some countries internets are censored. For example, China do not have access to facebook because of legal and political reasons and therefore, China use a different online service to come together as equals in discussions.
In the future, and it is also apparent today, information put online on web 2.0 services could be bias. This is already apparent in newspapers that are owned by one company or person. For example, Sky News, Daily Mirror, The Daily Telegraph, The Sun and The Times are all owned by Rupert Murdoch who could use his power of this media to send a particular message to large audiences. This could soon become true of the internet if they are brought by large companies who also specialise in other large media technologies.
As the internet has developed it is clear that it has become an idealised version of Habermas’ Public Sphere. The world wide web has allowed people to come together through different web 2.0 and social networking sites and it is still continuing t do this. People are treated as equals online and are free to develop and discuss judgments and opinions. Therefore the progression of the internet technology has allowed Habermas’ Public Sphere to become more modern through the use of the idealised World Wide Web.
