Esfera pública, democracia e internet: os bloggers em Portugal

Authors

  • Tiago Carvalho ICS-UL
  • José Luís Casanova CIES-ISCTE-IUL

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS422010343

Keywords:

Bloggers, Democracy, Internet, Public Sphere, Citizenship

Abstract

In this paper we present the results of a websurvey which was applied to bloggers in Portugal. Therefore, after a theoretical framework in which it’s discussed the internet potentialities in the public sphere renewal and its effects on democracy, bloggers are characterized socially, politically and ideologically. This bloggers are a homogeneous group in which dominates a young and adult male population, with similar socioeducational and socioprofessional positions and resources. The liberal, scientific and technical professions are overrepresented. Politically, they combine their activity in the blogosphere with participation in parties, associations and protest actions. The main differences emerge in political and partisan identities. We argue that, even though the discussion on this arena is still focused on an educated group, blogs allow expanding the discussion to different and new themes, independently from traditional mass media. In this way, blogs allow the construction of sociopolitical projects of autonomy, as the individual capacity to think and act but also as expression of societal projects, which conducts to a new sphere of discussion in and to democracy.

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Published

2010-06-30

How to Cite

Carvalho, T., & Casanova, J. L. (2010). Esfera pública, democracia e internet: os bloggers em Portugal. Observatorio (OBS*), 4(2). https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS422010343

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Section

Articles