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Blog Prompt #1: The Contemporary Public Sphere


At the risk of sounding like an elitist, I believe that a health examination of public life and the public sphere in contemporary America—specifically news outlets and social media sites—leads to a disturbing diagnosis: they are both plagued by disease and are in need of serious remedy.  Whether analyzing the diarrhea known as Twitter, the constipation of the dread “comments” section, the high blood pressure of news outlets such as Fox and MSNBC, or the diabetes of the overfed mass of blogs, the productive discourse once propelled by the public sphere has become an infectious zone littered with personal opinions either lacking in background knowledge or influenced by fake news. Perhaps with proper medication and mindful exercise the health of the public sphere will improve, but the participants must first acknowledge their illness and strive for healing.

Firstly, can the soundbites of 140 character tweets and similar posts really be considered discourse?  Rather than promoting stimulating ideas leading to further discussion and debate, such tweets actually elicit emotional responses often fueled by anger, resentment, and excitement, dangerous elements for productive conversation. What pertinent background information gets lost with verbally sparse posts? How many people know the true facts behind the soundbite, and how easy is it to skew the facts with only 140 characters?  Tweets seldom lead to education regarding a particular topic, but they do lead to enflamed emotions. And studies indicate that most people scan longer posts without actually reading in their entirety, so even when posters do provide pertinent details regarding their topics, those details are probably ignored. Unfortunately, the conversation is rarely elevated by readers’ comments.

Allowing followers of social media to comment on the posts of others sounds like a strong platform for discourse, and in some instances that is the case, but for many followers, commenting on posts becomes a personal platform for hateful, irrational, and despicable hatred and ignorance. Due to the anonymity of online spheres, commentators feel emboldened to give remarks they most likely would keep to themselves in actual conversations.  Again, the idea of productive debate gets lost, and the discussion stagnates when online commentators can so easily get away with this sort of bad behavior. More often than not the comments section becomes a rabbit hole of wasted time.

Certain news outlets surely bear responsibility for the demise of public discourse. When a media outlet irresponsibly spreads fake news, uninformed bloggers use the misinformation with little regard for accuracy. Trying to sort reputable sites from less than trustworthy ones is no easy feat, and gullible readers are easily manipulated into believing fake news and faulty opinions with little regard to inherent bias. Once again, online public spheres cater to an individual or group view with no interest in engaging in open-minded dialogue.

That online information can be spread quickly and widely could be a great tool for public discourse.  Ideas can be bridged literally from anywhere in the world, allowing for anyone with online access the chance to participate in discourse. Social media can be an excellent avenue for public discourse if the users are knowledgeable and tolerant of the opinions of others.  But those reputable participants have been overshadowed by too many folks that don't take the time to educate themselves on the issues they discuss. Rather than creating avenues of discourse, online public spheres currently serve to increase the current political polarization in America. Until individuals are willing to educate themselves on all sides of public issues, even subaltern spheres with the noblest plans to bring about positive change have no hope of success.  

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