E-democracy: Slacktivism vs civic activism

Abstract

There are many studies in Russia on how the open government and e-democracy should be arranged, what tools they use, what has been done, and what can be done in the future. There is no research, however, on how the public responds to this system and how it can function in the community. This is of major interest because the degree and quality of public involvement is one of the key indices of the efficiency of e-democracy and e-government. Open government and e-democracy expand direct public participation in national life and guarantee effective public control. This is an ideal that all countries’ governments are seeking to attend. Meanwhile, the public has begun to use internet on its own as an instrument of democracy and control. Facebook, vk.com, twitter and other online networks were established more than ten years ago. People feel the necessity of information exchanges, highlighting problems, and uniting for their rights. Present-day users are attached to their networks and their media image. We always look better in the internet than in reality. The inability to tell the difference between the real world and the virtual one have created a phenomenon known as slacktivism, manifest in internet petitions, likes, reposts, statuses, userpics changing with the latest news, and suchlike. However, studies show that low level of media and information literacy leads to the development slaktivizm, what can make instruments of e-democracy less effective. Media and information literacy is indispensable for open government’s sustainable work.