Arnstein's Ladder Summary

“Social media platforms held the promise of being more egalitarian and democratic than mass media in a sense that all users could equally participate and contribute content” (Dijck & Poell, 6). This explains a basic purpose of social media that remains consistent with the democratic values of freedom that the U.S. is founded upon by providing citizens with a platform where they are free to speak their mind. What makes this even more interesting is the ability for people to share their opinions on a stage that has relatively no geographical boundaries. Rather than restricting the spread of individuals’ beliefs, social networking sites help spread messages and information to anyone, faster than was previously possible. According to Dijck and Poell, “social media platforms seldom deal with ‘natural’ geographically or demographically delineated audiences; instead, they expedite connections between individuals, partly allowing the formation of strategic alliances or communities through users’ initiative” (Dijck & Poell, 8). Social networking sites are naturally designed to increase connectivity and interactions among individuals with common interests or beliefs. The idea of connectivity has significantly influenced the way in which protests are held in America and around the world.

Traditional media was a one-way street limiting the ability to give any thought on the issues at hand. Social media, however, offers a two-way street effect that enables the user the ability to communicate. Social media is a great tool for both keeping in touch with family and friends, as well as staying up to date on current affairs worldwide. Social media and networking sites have become popular these days and people of all ages, denominations, color and creed are meeting online to interact at social media websites.

Congress, 80% of our representatives use social media to engage with constituents. That has never been done before and is changing how politicians respond. We even see some votes in Congress made based on their Facebook feedback.”(The Economic) The Internet is like being there in the whole scene. Missing out information is impossible, a simply Google search, all the information is stored. When computers came out, it cost thousands, now it’s cheaper and faster. There’s tablets and phones with the opportunity to surf the web. More than half the candidates have some type of social media, either them or a fan.

Today, it is very easy to obtain information of any kind. Thanks to the convergence and development of technology. “The Internet”, which today is one of the easiest ways to obtain quick information without allot of effort. There are millions of people from around the world that use the Internet as a tool to communicate, search, and find information on about any topic imaginable. (Aynur, Nejat, 2015). In this Essay on Social Media, we will be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of easily obtainable information, the advantages and disadvantages of social media, and importantly how knowing of these things can alter how a person might use social media, as well as the credibility issues that arise from the information on

Arnstein discusses the level of participation from the standpoint of the recipients. She lays emphasis on how redistribution of power and enabling environment are vital in enabling citizen’s participation and that “without redistribution of power, it is an empty and frustrating process for the powerless”. In her typology, she outlines eight rungs of a ladder; they being: citizen control, delegated power, partnership, consultation, informing, placation, therapy and manipulation. According to her, citizen control and delegated power is about giving away decision-making, resources and control where there is clear lines of accountability and two-way communication between those giving away power.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media websites have affected American elections in many forms. Candidates are now turning their attention to the people on social networks Murse (2015). They 're trying to draw more people like Millennials because they use more technology. These applicants are trying to step up and make a huge difference from the election of 2008. While in the running, the usage of social media is being used to announce what he or she is doing for the presidential campaign. For this reason, candidates, controversy, public opinion, social media and its 21st century media outlets have become the center of the 2016 election (CIO, 2015).

Overall, our theory that social media use is a cause for voter turnout was not supported through our tests. Our results from our hypothesis chi-square test, our regression analysis, and also our predicted probabilities test show that social media use does not have a significant effect on voter turnout in the 2012 presidential election. Our theory may have been flawed in thinking that less people are dependent on social media than we originally thought. This can been seen in our graphic that a majority people do not use social media at all for obtaining political information. Social media sites are still on the rise and are not as widely/frequently used as we previously anticipated. The millennial generation and generation z are the most common

On the internet, when the politics news come around, people put their own opinion about campaigns, government and activism. Statistics show, that “66% of social media users (39% of American adults) have engaged in one of eight civic or political activities with social media: 38% of those who use social networking sites (SNS) or Twitter “like” or promote material related to politics or social issues that others have posted, 35% have used social networking sites to encourage people to vote, 34% have used the tools to post their own thoughts or comments on political and social issues, 33% have used the tools to repost content related to political or social issues that was originally posted by someone else, 31% have used the tools to encourage other people to take action on a political or social issue, 28% have used the tools to post links to political stories or articles for others to read,

And according to surveys and studies conducted by Pew Internet & American Life Project people who use social networking sites as an outlet for civic engagement are way more active in traditional political, nonpolitical, and civic participation than those people who do not use internet at all (Smith, Schlozman, Verba, & Brady).

Social media can be seen from completely different aspects and points of views. A major role in these different opinions plays mostly the age of the beholder, because social media made an enormous change in the last 50 years. One very important aspect in our today’s society is to get as many information as possible in a very short time period ("Impacts of social media”) Through social media and especially social networks such as twitter and Facebook, the information gets spread extremely fast. There are for example reporters who search on those networks to get information for their news and articles. (“Impacts

612). Social media encourages people to express themselves politically by providing them with a convenient platform, and this in turn leads them to participate politically (Gil de Zúñiga et al. 615). On the negative side, some believe that the low commitment to engage with issues online leads many to neglect to learn more about the causes or participate in any meaningful way. This kind of unengaged activism is known as “slacktivism” (LaRiviere et al. 12). While it is true that it is impossible to guarantee online participation, the simple act of consuming news on social media and expressing political opinions online with friends can lead to political participation offline (Gil de Zúñiga et al.

The use of social media sites remain as atop down information feed rather than interacting active input as issues can become polarising resulting in conflict leading to bad publicity to elected officials (Fredricks & Foth 2012, p 246). Those that already have an interest in a local issue will seek out other mechanisms of public participation (Fredricks & Foth 2012, p 248). The use of the internet in public participation requires a technical knowledge that may involve training in some areas (Seltzer & Mahoundi 2013 p. 11). Additionally utilising telecommunications requires a decent network (Leighninger 2012 p. 4).

This means better informed decision making. As for Diehl et al. and Kim, both also had interesting observations on the use of social media and the impacts that has on decision making. Diehl et al. focuses on how the use of social media can affect the opinions of politics as where Kim focuses on the effects social media creates on involvement and volunteering. Diehl et al. has a focus on the political conversation and persuasion that happens on social media sites such as Facebook and Kim also focuses on the conversations and the volunteering opportunities that are presented on this site. The two conclude new information and persuasion come from this and can therefore advocate for better decision making. Being influenced by the use of social media can call for new political decision making such as a new vote, or the new decision to participate, volunteer, or advocate for an organization such as the ALS ice bucket challenge. These studies show how the use of social media impacts the final decision making process for many of its users. Brailovskaia and Margraf, Caron and Light, Diehl et al. and Kim, show that many people are turning to social media to sometimes serve as a deciding factor for many decision making

The almost omnipresent Internet transforms our lives, connecting us to family, friends, and the world in ways inconceivable only a few years ago. Through social media, we actively participate in creating, editing, and consuming a never-ending stream of data. Private corporations and protagonists of political or social change all vie to reach and engage highly targeted

Social media further dissolves borders between the uses of propaganda and public information to forward political-strategic goals. For companies, social media is a great way to promote their brand and their products and attract customers. For politicians the same is true, only in their case they are their own brand.