We will set aside considerations of (important) individual phenomena like
the Arab Spring, the indignados movement, and #MeToo, or (important)
individual outcomes like the 2014 Indian general elections, the UK (Brexit)
referendum on EU membership, or the 2016 US presidential elections, and
instead identify a few key changes at the institutional level and the individual
level that are part and parcel of the rise of digital media and discuss how this rise
is in turn changing the institutions and infrastructures that enable free
expression. Inspired by James Webster (2014) and his work on structuration,
we examine structural change by considering the interplay between institutional
change on the supply side and aggregate individual-level behavior on the
demand side.
Social_Media_and_Democracy