Persuasive Paper

The Impact of Internet on Politics: A Literature Review

The Internet has been used for many different things throughout the years. From looking up information, to downloading music, email accounts or even the various social networking sites. Did you ever realize how big of an impact the internet has on politics? In the articles “The Internet Electorate,” by R. Kelly Garrett, “Electronic Grassroots: Does online campaigning work?,” by Kevin M. Wagner, “Internet in Political Campaigns,” by Calin Sinescu, “The Impact of the Political Promotion via Facebook on Individuals’ Political Orientations,” by Rudaina Yousif, “The Internet and Democratic Participation,” by Michael Cornfield, and “The Impact of the Internet on Politics: The “Net Effect on Political Campaigns and Elections,” by Randy Weiss, they discuss the various ways the Internet has made a big impact on politics and elections. Many disagree with the use of the Internet being an effective way to vote or to keep track of their favorite politicians, but the information found in these articles may change the way people think about the capabilities of the Internet in this manner.

In the article, “Electronic Grassroots: Does Online Campaigning Work,” Wagner (2009) talks about how Internet campaigning is no longer a desirable accessory to the national campaign, but a predictor of the number of votes candidates running for Congress receive (p. 502). Basically, it meant that the more web presence the candidate had, the more influence it would have on the amount of the votes they would receive. People wanted to actually be able to connect with the candidates in a way watching them on television did not always provide. The use of the internet as a medium for politics is one that has not been used very long. Wagner (2009) states that initially, the Internet remained a fairly low-resource campaign tool, though an early warning of the potential impact of the Internet was displayed in 1994, when then-House Speaker...