The internet has eased communication because people are able to share information instantly. Almost everything in today’s world is being done on the internet. By this, it implies that internet plays a major role in our daily activities, from dating to business activities and as well as politics. This paper reviews some of the benefits and changes that have been brought by this latest technology advancement in relation to political interactions globally.
Politicians are able to interact with their supporters over the social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. This is a very convenient and effective strategy. Besides, the internet is the cheapest and fastest communication media compared to the others. Today the rallies don’t have to be held on physical grounds because the internet acts as the virtual field where the two parties converge, that is, the politicians and the voters.
Meeting physically with one’s supporters can be very costly because it consumes more time. This is because posters and other hard copies materials have to be printed before campaigns can resume. The use of internet was confirmed to be reality by president Obama. This is because no one has to move around convincing people to cast their votes. Unlike before when activists were barred from holding rallies because they can organize the said meetings on the internet.
The internet provides a platform where politicians can advertise themselves using the available materials on the internet. This kind of advertising is efficient and very fast compared to bill boards and posters because they can be destroyed by rivals hence on the internet they can not be disfigured. Moreover, politicians have adopted the use of internet while sourcing for funds. This method is preferred because it is very convenient and not tiring. When one is using the internet to sensitize people about his/her political ambitions, success is based on the number of people one is able to lure to his/her camp side.
When politicians use the internet to campaign for their re-election they have an advantage of meeting their rival’s supporters without fear because whatever their response would be there is no possible physical harm that is common when one is on the ground. This is because when one enters a territory of his/her rival chances are that he/she will not be given a hearing and will instead be met with a lot of resistance that is coupled with insults and violence.
Before the integration of internet into voting systems, politicians used to manipulate the outcome to favor themselves but today that is least likely to happen because voters can elect their desired leaders electronically. The voter registers are also stored electronically hence when a problem occurs it is easier for election officials to solve it. Besides, people can track the voting process on the internet because the summation of votes is computerized hence the results are released very fast even in highly populated countries like china.
The internet has been used as an educative tool and people are far much enlightened hence they keep the politicians on their toes and if they find that a particular politician is not fulfilling his/her promises, they vote him/her out during the forth coming elections. This is because parliament sessions are usually followed in real time and if something funny erupts, the news spread very fast.
In this light, politicians can interact with their supporters at ease by using the internet. They achieve this by establishing websites that are customized to meet their supporters’ requirements. They use these websites to notify people about their manifestos and other issues which might be helpful in luring the voters. They also employ text messages to send numerous messages to their supporters in addition to electronic mails. The internet is also used to conduct opinion polls that enable politicians to gauge themselves against their opponents.