Twitter and

Democracy: A
New Public
Sphere?
What is the Public Sphere?

0:00 - 3:33
What is the Public Sphere?
According to Habermas, the public sphere is a discursive social space where
private individuals come together as a ‘public’. (Habermas, 1989)

● Formation of public opinion

● All citizens have access
● Conference in unrestricted fashion about matters of general interests
● Debate over the general rules governing relations
 “To speak online is to publish, and to publish online is to
connect with others. With the arrival of globally accessible
publishing, freedom of speech is now freedom of press, and
freedom of the press is freedom of assembly” (Shirky 2008,
172)
Twitter, Social Media and the Public Sphere
● Rise of blogs, social networking
sites, microblogs, wikis and
content-sharing sites led to
public discussions on the
implications of these media for
the political realm.
Is Twitter a new Public Sphere?
Do you believe there is political and/or
economic censorship on Twitter?
2:46 - 5:38
Twitter’s Political
Economy
● Started off as a profit
oriented corporation. No
business model.
● Changed terms of use
significantly in 2010.
Included the company’s
ownership rights with
respect to user-generated
content.
● New business model
based on targeted
advertising in 2011
Political Communication on Twitter
● Politics is a minority topic on Twitter.
● Mostly dominated by entertainment
● Audience is mostly young, educated, middle class
● Predominantly an information medium not a communication tool
● Limitation of speech and public opinion
Social Media and
Loneliness
 What is Loneliness?
● According to Cacioppo and Patrick
“Loneliness” is a emotional distress
experience that emerges from
unfulfilled needs in a social
connection. (Cacioppo & Patrick,
2008)
● Different from Social Isolation
● Loneliness causes Higher Internet
Use, Higher Internet Use causes
loneliness (Neto, Golz, & Polega,
2015)
Loneliness + Social Media=?
● Posting helps to fill the void.
● Feeling of well being
● Supportive Network
● Lack of social skills
● Lack of intimacy
Do you believe that we’ve become reliant on
social media to determine how we feel about
ourselves?
 Mental Health
● Depression
● Anxiety
● Stress
● Social Media and the way we
present ourselves can give
high expectations (Spatial Self)
Have you thought about how your perception
has changed before you became a loyal social
media user?
Small solutions, but still a solution.
● Disconnect
● Limit yourself
● Even if you don’t disconnect some
sites offer support assistance
when you type in certain hashtags
such as “Hopeless” and “Anxiety”
Snapchat Is More
Personal
 SOCIAL MEDIA AND
INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION
“In an interaction, people are always
trying to gain information from others and
test predictions about others from the
information they receive.” (Goffman, 1959)
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 Social Media and Romantic Relationships
“Social media has been
presented as a way to initiate
and progress social and
romantic relationships”
(Yang, Brown, & Braun,
2014)
1. Getting Acquainted on
Facebook
2. Progress To Instant
Messaging
3. THEN exchange
cellphone numbers
4. Next step is to meet in
person
 “Snapchat has been conceptualized as a more
private form of communication and is an “escape
from the public one- to- many communication
that is the default on facebook” (Utz et al., 2015,
p.4)
 Does having a snapchat cause trust
issues and jealousy in interpersonal
relationships
References
Fuchs, C. (2014). Social Media and the Public Sphere. Triplec (Cognition, Communication, Co-Operation): Open Access Journal For A
Global Sustainable Information Society, 12(1), 57-101.

Fuchs, C. (2017). Social media: A critical introduction. Los Angeles: Sage.

Neto, R., Golz, N., & Polega, M. (2015). Social Media Use, Loneliness, and Academic Achievement: A Correlational Study with Urban
High School Students. Social Media Use, Loneliness, and Academic Achievement: A Correlational Study with Urban High School
Students. Retrieved from https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:3232/fulltext/EJ1097983.pdf.

Yang, C. (2016). Instagram Use, Loneliness, and Social Comparison Orientation: Interact and Browse on Social Media, But Dont
Compare. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking,19(12), 703-708. doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0201

Pittman, M., & Reich, B. (2016). Social media and loneliness: Why an Instagram picture may be worth more than a thousand Twitter
words. Computers in Human Behavior,62, 155-167. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.084

Subrahmanyam, k., & Greenfield, P. (2008). Online communication and adolescent

relationships. The Future of Children, 18, 119-146