The new agora: The space of public debate in the digital age

Abstract

This paper raises two questions: can the Web be a space for public debate? Can this debate be constructive? Adopting a non-normative and not overly narrow definition, it is possible to say that the Web is a space for public debate. However, some of its structural characteristics and some aspects of the dominant social media (individualism and the impossibility of establishing durable bonds of solidarity) can be interpreted as elements that contribute to social polarization on the Web. This makes it difficult to give a clear answer to the second question.

Keywords

• Digital capitalism
• Social media
• public sphere
• polarization