A Study Of The Internet And Civic Engagement In The United States

Nowadays, the Internet assumes a more prominent role around the world, with its influences strongly felt in almost every aspect of people’s lives. Its rising importance has also transformed the way Americans engage in different kinds of civic activities. What does the Internet do to American citizens’ civic life? How to understand its role in the changing landscape of American civic engagement? There are no simple black-or-white answers. In fact, as the Internet incorporates a wide range of usages and functions, we need to form a more nuanced picture of its effects on American civic engagement. Meanwhile, we need to bear in mind that the Internet has provided an online channel for Americans’ civic behaviors.As one of the most vibrant democratic countries in the world, the United States is built on broader participation in social and political affairs by its citizens. The civic culture is an integral part of the country’s social fabric, and civic engagement is evolving with the development of its society. This thesis, based on uses and gratifications theory and media system dependency theory, attempts to analyze how the Internet, as new media, impacts on civic engagement in the United States and concludes that the Internet has positive implications on American civic engagement, though some possible negative influences exist.