The prediction, in brief:

Vast inequalities of use exist, changing the democratic structure of the Internet into an occasion for further wrongs to the poorer populations. Even within the high-use nations, wealthy white males are disproportionate users. Yet technologies sometimes spread quickly and the Internet is relatively cheap. Only grassroots political mobilization on this issue will ensure wide access.

Predictor: Poster, Mark

Prediction, in context:

In his 1995 book “The Second Media Age,” Mark Poster, a member of the humanities faculty at the University of California at Irvine, writes:”The political implications of the Internet for the fate of the nation state and the development of a global community … requires attention. The dominant use of English on the Internet suggests the extension of American power as does the fact that e-mail addresses in the U.S. alone do not require a country code. The Internet normalizes American users. But the issue is more complex. In Singapore, English serves to enable conversations between hostile ethnic groups, being a neutral ‘other.’ … Vast inequalities of use exist, changing the democratic structure of the Internet into an occasion for further wrongs to the poorer populations. Even within the high-use nations, wealthy white males are disproportionate users. Yet technologies sometimes spread quickly and the Internet is relatively cheap. Only grassroots political mobilization on this issue will ensure wide access.”

Biography:

Mark Poster wrote the paper “Cyberdemocracy: Internet and the Public Sphere” in 1995 while teaching at the University of California, Irvine. He also wrote about technology for Wired magazine. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)

Date of prediction: January 1, 1995

Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics

Subtopic: Democracy

Name of publication: The Second Media Age

Title, headline, chapter name: Chapter Two: Postmodern Virtualities

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.humanities.uci.edu/mposter/writings/internet.html

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Schmidt, Nicholas