Internet has been among the major technological advancement the world has witnessed. The world has become a single society with all sorts of interactional practices enabled through internet connections. Ultimately, internet has brought about a huge impact in the way of life among people, hence the ideologies in the political arena.
The influence of internet in people’s lives has made the technological advancement a political instrument. Political activities such as campaigns, activism and governance are activated through the help of internet. As a matter of fact, there is no any political activity that can run without internet. For instance, posts and political forums are spread among people through internet during political campaigns. Effective communication is also enhanced when members of the society post and read political updates on the internet. This further gathers a cluster of like-minded individuals to form a focal point of people with similar political ideology and interest. Many political figures have used this strategy as a cheap means of publicity in campaigns. A good example is the 2004 Howard Dean’s US presidential campaigns that utilized the use of political websites to lure support.
In activism, political activists speeds their routines through the internet. Many social organizations have started through the internet. For example, the political revolution in Syria was facilitated by internet social sites such as Face book and twitter. People’s grievances and ideas to protest against political oppression have been accelerated by internet to a great extent. In governance, there has been a general trend of some governments using the internet to receive the views and opinions of the citizens. For example, most countries in North America have initiated this. Furthermore, South Korea has been practicing this strategy to involve citizens in participation of government issues. Therefore, internet has come to facilitate understanding and communication among people in both social and political front.
