The Contested Space of Free Expressions in Cyber Media

Cyberspace has been emerged as a game changer in mass communication with its inherent strengths of hypertextuality and interactivity. It has been celebrated as 'new media' that can redefine and reshape forms of free expressions, democracy and politics. Several global incidents pointed at the revolutionary ways in which cyberspace can influence modern democratic discourses and even social transformations. However, a cautious approach is imperative to understand this medium better as it is also vulnerable to ideological hegemony, capital interests and structures of power. Since most of the 'user generated content' is addressing to emotional self of the receivers often it dilutes the principles of rationality and benevolence. This paper is an attempt to discern the strengths and weaknesses of cyber media with the help of an exploratory enquiry of internet content and theoretical structures put forth so far.

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