Citizens' Roles
The Internet provides a distinctive structure of opportunities that has the potential to renew interest in civic engagement and participation. Civic engagement can be understood to include three distinct dimensions: political knowledge (what people learn about public affairs), political trust (the public's orientation of support for the political system), and political participation (conventional activities designed to influence government and the decision-making process).
The information capacity available on the Internet allows citizens to become more knowledgeable about government and political issues, and the interactivity of the medium allows for new forms of communication with government, i.e. elected officials and/or public servants. The posting of contact information, legislation, agendas, and policies makes government more transparent, potentially enabling more informed participation both online and offline. For more information, visit transparent-gov.
A new way in which citizens can take a role in the government is with the OPEN Act. The Online Protection and Enforcement Act is revolutionary in that it allows those who can access the internet to go to their website Keep The Web Open view the act, add comments, and make changes that can then be added to the act. One of the main goals of E-democracy is to actively engage citizens through the use of media and communication technologies. Given the definition of E-democracy this act is seen as something that encourages citizens to get their own opinions in and possibly help write new legislation.
Read more about this topic: E-democracy
Famous quotes containing the word roles:
“Productive collaborations between family and school, therefore, will demand that parents and teachers recognize the critical importance of each other’s participation in the life of the child. This mutuality of knowledge, understanding, and empathy comes not only with a recognition of the child as the central purpose for the collaboration but also with a recognition of the need to maintain roles and relationships with children that are comprehensive, dynamic, and differentiated.”
—Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)