Annenberg PhD student Magdalena Wojcieszak honored by the International Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society

Thursday, December 15, 2005

---

The 2005 Annual Prize for Excellence for the best paper submitted to the International Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society was awarded to ASC PhD student Magdalena Wojcieszak's "Does Online Selectivity Create a Threat to Deliberative Democracy?: Cyber Skepticism Reconsidered." It was selected from the ten top-ranked papers on the basis of its contribution to new thinking in the field. Abstract for Wojcieszak's work: Proliferation of the internet has altered the conceptualization of the role the media play in democratic society. Some scholars claim that its structural features contribute to a more democratic society. Others point to dangers that come with the unprecedented individual control over online content. They posit that internet users seek idiosyncratically interesting topics, avoid opposing viewpoints, and look for opinions that confirm their predilections. This thwarts discussion between diverse public, decreases shared experiences, and leads to societal fragmentation, polarization and balkanization of knowledge. This paper addresses these notions and juxtaposes them with empirical data. The results of surveys by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the Pew Research Center are analyzed. The analysis of these data and of quantitative and qualitative studies does not support "cyber-skeptics" assumptions but it does not provide determined counterevidence. This paper concludes questions and proposes directions for future research.