New connection technologies and the future of public sphere

Abstract

Cyberspace researchers argue that a virtual public sphere has emerged in our times. This paper aims at showing the ideas of some of these theoreticians. This is an essentially theoretical research, in which we connected two important areas of study: communication and politics. In this research, we synthesize the ideas related to the present status of the so-called virtual public sphere, in the context of the new communication and information technologies. Having Habermas’s conception of public space as a starting point, we searched for the theories of thinkers like Diana Saco, Andrew Shapiro, Mark Poster, William Bogard, among others. Based on their work, we tried to reflect on the so-called virtual public sphere and we have come to three hypothesis about virtual public sphere, power and cyberdemocracy. The technology, by itself, is not enough to build up a public sphere or even to revitalize the concept of democracy or a mediated public communication. Preserving the space reserved to different forms of communication and to public debate is a fundamental condition for the development of democracy.