Internet & Politics

Politics... one of the topics that has been the bottom of my interest list for a very long time. Somehow, I feel that belonging to this generation and living in a comfort zone like Singapore, political discussion has been rather minimal because the youth are preoccupied with many other things. These things could range from the crazy rat race of pursuing their education, or hanging out with their friends that they get so caught up with their pace of life.Hence, in my opinion politics tends to take a backseat.

However, I do acknowledge that the Internet is a powerful medium for a politician to reach out to people in this age, especially to the younger generation. In the most recent US presidential elections, Mr. Barrack Obama was wise in making use of the Internet to publicise his campaigns and it received very positive feedback. It would be interesting to see our very own political candidates use the Internet for campaigning later this year, as this might spark a larger interest in the younger generation.

With the rapid relay of information made possible by the Internet, I think that this is a new avenue for politics to grow and it might give rise to newer and more creative methods of campaigning by political candidates.However, one of the risks that is involved with this method is actually related to public relations as well because once information is put up on the Internet, it is very hard to control the flow of information. Hence, if the wrong message is sent out to the public, dire consequences will be faced by the candidate.

Caution should be exercised when utilizing the Internet for political agendas, but if one can fully harness its potential their chances of success will definitely increase through the use of this powerful medium.