Participation that is limited to an elite nonrepresentative portion of our society does not conform to the American notion of democracy. With most users of the Internet being relatively young white males from a privileged socioeconomic segment of the population, we are more likely to end up with “electronic oligarchy” than with “electronic democracy.”
Predictor: Simons, Barbara
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article for The San Francisco Chronicle, Barbara Simons, chair of the U.S. Public Policy Committee for the Association for Computing Machinery, and Gary Chapman, coordinator of the 21st Century Project, write: ”Ross Perot talked about the ‘electronic town hall.’ Supporters of the information superhighway sometimes tout it as a way to increase democratic participation and engage more citizens in decisions about the future of the country. But participation that is limited to an elite nonrepresentative portion of our society does not conform to the American notion of democracy. With most users of the Internet being relatively young white males from a privileged socioeconomic segment of the population, we are more likely to end up with ‘electronic oligarchy’ than with ‘electronic democracy.'”
Biography:Barbara Simons was a 1990s leader in technology-policy issues. She founded and chaired the Association for Computing Machinery’s U.S. Technology Policy Committee (USACM) and was ACM secretary from 1990 to 1992, prior to which she chaired the ACM Committee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: January 17, 1994
Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics
Subtopic: Democracy
Name of publication: San Francisco Chronicle
Title, headline, chapter name: Information Highway Has Many Potholes
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page B3
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Stewart, Ben L.