The prediction, in brief:

As commercial providers increase on the Internet, and more political information is provided, the problem of who sets the agenda for the new medium also becomes a concern … Questions concern production of culture, social control, and political communication. Will the Internet ultimately be accessible to all? How are groups excluded from participation? Computers were originally created to wage war and have been developed in an extremely specific, exclusive culture. Can we trace those cultural influences in the way messages are produced on the Internet?

Predictor: Morris, Merrill

Prediction, in context:

In a 1995 article for the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Merrill Morris and Christine Ogan write:”When the uses of the Internet as a mass medium are explored, questions arise about the nature of its communicative content. As commercial providers increase on the Internet, and more political information is provided, the problem of who sets the agenda for the new medium also becomes a concern … Questions concern production of culture, social control, and political communication. Will the Internet ultimately be accessible to all? How are groups excluded from participation? Computers were originally created to wage war and have been developed in an extremely specific, exclusive culture. Can we trace those cultural influences in the way messages are produced on the Internet?”

Date of prediction: January 1, 1995

Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics

Subtopic: Democracy

Name of publication: Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication

Title, headline, chapter name: The Internet as Mass Medium

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://jcmc.huji.ac.il/vol1/issue4/morris.html

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney