#FirstWorldProblems...Internet & Democracy

In response to "The Daily We" by Cass Sunstein -- I could not help but think that this was a very ethnocentric perspective on the effect the Internet is having on democracy. Sunstein was concerned with individuals limiting the public sphere by streamlining their information. In all honestly, this sounds like a #FirstWorldProblem. Let us stop and think about the countries that do not have the resources to even share ideas due to a lack of infrastruture. According to this 2011 article, 70% of the world does not even have access to Internet. http://news.yahoo.com/disconnected-70-percent-world-doesnt-internet-despite-rising-201836035.html. It does not seem entirely coincidental that the countries that are recognized for their democracy fit into the 30% of the world that has Internet access.

Then, let us take this idea a step further and consider the countries where "black holes" exist in regards to government censorship. In these cases, the use of the Internet is prohibited because they are afraid of the very thing that Sunstein warns us of losing...the public sphere. The governments are looking to slow the growth and exchange of ideas and the best way they know how to do that is through Internet censorship. Honestly, this seems like a counter-intuitive claim when we look at this idea with a global perspective. Movements for democracy and justice such as Kony 2012 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Ue6REkeTA) would not be feasible without the use of the Internet. There is no other way to spread ideas and raise awareness globally more efficiently than the Internet. All in all, the Internet and free use of it has become a hallmark of democracy, not lack thereof.