Cyber-republicanism.

• Author: Tran, Sarah
• Position: Continuation of II. Rethinking Capture Theory A. Facilitating Republican Moments 2. Universalism through Conclusion, with appendix, footnotes, and table, p. 409-434

Interestingly, the universalism goal of republican theories closely resembles the stated aspirations of certain social media sites. For instance:

[Twitter states that it] lends itself to cause and action. Every day, we are inspired by stories of people using Twitter to help make the world a better place in unexpected ways.... As more community-centric organizations join the platform, citizens will increasingly engage with the efforts taking place to move their community forward. (125) According to Twitter, tweets have helped "make the world a better place in unexpected ways" by heating a dorm room, promoting public health, saving a dog's life, and even opening African courts to direct communication with the public. (126) Twitter's assertions that it is helping "make the world a better place" and enabling citizens to "move their community forward" embody two tenets of universalism. They imply, first, that Twitter is a forum for citizens to pursue the public good and, second, that some values are more important to the world and communities than others.

Despite the universalism aspirations and achievements of certain social media sites, it is important to recognize that social media sites do not in and of themselves promote universalism. The sites can lead to the sharing of negative ideas just as well as positive ones. (127) Individuals have used the sites to share child pornography, fuel terrorism activities, and bully others. (128) Nonetheless, because citizens can use social media sites as mechanisms for promoting universalism, the sites provide value to our political system. Additionally, the negative messages that are shared via social media sites can stimulate dialogue and discussion of appropriate behavior and shared values.

This is precisely what happened when the Public Relations Department of ASUSTEK Computer, Inc. (ASUS) posted a public tweet that included a photograph of a woman, taken from behind, with reference to a nice looking rear. (129) This tweet was widely condemned on social media sites as offensive to women. ASUS subsequently deleted the tweet from its site, issued an apology on Twitter for its "inappropriate comment," and committed to not repeat its mistake again. (130) But the incident has brought the male-dominated technology industry into the spotlight and raised awareness of the importance of promoting gender equality in the industry. (131) The widespread denouncement of the ASUS tweet, thus, exemplifies how social media users may use offensive communications as teaching moments to promote universalism.

In summary, social media constitutes a tool for promoting universalism. Through social media sites, citizens have engaged in the pursuit of what they see as the common good, even when they have little private interest at stake in the issues, and have contributed to monumental changes in government and corporate policies.

3. Political Equality

   The third principle of republican theories is political equality. To some republican theorists, the commitment to political equality required direct public participation in the political processes. To others, like James Madison, political equality could be achieved by having government representatives who were "derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it." (132) The basic thrust of the commitment to political equality was that government should not be controlled by elite individuals and interest groups. (133) Instead, all individuals and groups should have the ability to influence the political processes. (134) A fundamental premise behind the republican commitment to political equality is that viewpoint diversity is good. In recent years this premise has been considered essential to our democracy. (135)

   It would likely be difficult to think of a forum more conducive to political equality than a social media site. American adults of any race, age, gender, economic status, diet, sexual preference, religion, or other defining characteristic can influence the political processes by contributing their input on social media sites to an issue that goes viral. A primary reason that social media sites encompass such diverse segments of the population is that social media sites have few entry costs; membership and use of most services are free. (136) Additionally, popular social media sites impose few restrictions on eligibility. For instance, although Facebook started out as a network for college students in February 2004, (137) since September 2006 any person over the age of thirteen who is not a convicted sex offender and has access to a computer may create a Facebook account. (138)

   As a result of low barriers to entry, a diverse and rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population takes advantage of social media sites. Whereas a 2011 survey indicated 43 percent of American adults had a Facebook page, (139) a 2012 survey reports that a whopping 56 percent of the adult population now have a page and that over one-third of its users access Facebook at least once a day. (140) Additionally, as the chart below depicting the results of a 2011 survey shows, adult users of Facebook are not limited to specific age groups, sexes, or economic classes. (141) Although certain groups like younger adults tend to be more involved in social media sites than others, the sites have attracted robust numbers of all groups. (142) For instance, 17 percent of adults aged 65+ using Facebook in 2011, the lowest statistic reported, correlates to well over six million seniors on Facebook. (143) Given that the older population is projected to double by 2030, (144) and that the large percentage of adults in the fifty to sixty-four age range who currently use social media sites--33 percent--will next constitute the older population, the number of older adults using social media sites in the next couple of decades will likely grow in rapid clips.

   The diversity of social media users contrasts with the homogeneity of political representatives in government. Congress, which was specifically designed to represent the people, tends to be homogenous in terms of gender, race, age, and socio-economic factors. (146) Government forums for public participation also tend to draw from a concentrated pool. With conventional rule making, participants tend to be major stakeholders rather than concerned citizens. (147) Studies of electronic rule making indicate that the availability of online commenting has not changed the situation much thus far. (148) Social media sites cannot supplant rulemaking mechanisms or elected officials. They complement the nation's governmental institutions, however, by serving as forums for diverse members of the public to express their views.

   In summary, social media sites provide low-cost opportunities for adults of all interests, races, genders, ages, and economic classes to express diverse viewpoints that can be heard by and influence policymakers. Although the sites are not perfectly diverse, they create mechanisms for the republican commitment to political equality to be better realized.

4. Citizenship

   The periods of creation or renewal [of civilization] occur when [people]for various reasons are led into a closer relationship with each other, when reunions and assemblies are most frequent, relationships better maintained and the exchange of ideas most active. (149) Citizenship represents the final central commitment of republican theories. (150) Republicans viewed political participation as a means of limiting the risks of factionalism and self-interested representation while instilling values of empathy, virtue, and feelings of community among citizens. (151) Republicans considered the size of the republic as a critical component of citizenship. (152) They saw larger populations as tending to decrease opportunities for public participation as well as the connection between the rulers and the ruled parties. The small town meeting epitomized the republicans' ideal model for governance. (153) At a town meeting, virtuous citizens, guided by their education and morality, could put aside their private interests and preferences to collaboratively discover the best solutions to social issues through practical reason. (154)

   It is commonly assumed that the republican model of small communities deliberating on political issues is "impossible on the national level" as "[o]bviously, the United States is too large for a general assembly of the whole people." (155) But had the social media age predated the American Revolution, the republicans may very well have decided that the social media age satisfies the republican commitment to citizenship. Despite the fact that millions of persons access social media on a daily basis, the sites help inculcate the very values of empathy, virtue, and feelings of membership in a small community that republican theorists prized in small town meetings. (156)

   Persons connected to each other through Facebook are called "Friends." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines a friend as a person who is "attached to another by affection or esteem" or is a "favored companion." (157) Although naming conventions are often arbitrary, research suggests that persons connected through social media sites truly act like friends or members of a small community. Individuals share recent stories, pictures of pets, personal goals, and other information that strengthens relationships among users, (158) They also trust and value the opinions of members of their social media communities. (159) For instance, Sam Altman, the co-founder of the social media site Loopt, has reported that Loopt's users "are 20 times more likely to click on a place their friends had liked or visited than a place that simply ranked higher in search results." (160) And a survey of over 25,000 consumers from 50 countries indicated that consumers trust recommendations from people they know more than any other form...