Is modern technology beneficial or threatening to

democracy?
Modern technology is prevalent in our daily lives. Technology associated with
telecommunications allows us to communicate with one another with ease and speed. Such
technologies have the greatest impact and influence on our beliefs and values. The public
network supports numerous social media platforms which allow the general public to voice
their opinions ‘freely’. Assuming that we value democracy as the preferred governing system,
such sharing platforms can be used to both benefit and threaten democracy. After much
deliberation, I argue that modern technology largely benefits democracy and while some
threats exist, they are minute and negligible.

Democracy is defined as a government that is elected by the people. It is a system of

governance that is commonly associated with freedom – freedom of speech, freedom of
thought, freedom of artistic expression, etc. In general, most people want their voices to be
heard and respected. The idea of being able to achieve our goals, dreams and aspirations
freely surely appeal to many people. Modern technology is beneficial to democracy only
when it can help magnify the benefits of this popular system of governance. However, it can
also be threatening to democracy when it starts to magnify the flaws of democracy.

First, let us discuss the value of democracy. Since democracy encourages the sharing of
ideas, such a system allows leaders to approach problems after taking into consideration the
different perspectives offered by different parties. If alternative ideas are suppressed,
leaders may be forced into making risky and unpopular decisions. Modern technology allows
collaboration to take place easily over the Internet. The Singapore government is now known
for using popular social media platforms such as Facebook to connect with citizens. Town
Councils setup special social media accounts and collect ideas from the residents. In
addition, the Internet is abuzz with activity whenever an election is about to take place. This
is true not only in Singapore but in many developed nations such as Hong Kong, Japan,
Switzerland and the United States. Through numerous social media platforms such as
Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and Instagram, any common citizen can voice his or her opinion
freely to lend support to their political parties or to support certain political ideals. When
voters are highly engaged, this gives rise to a government that has strong support and thus a
high level of legitimacy. Since the outcome is a positive one, one would argue that in this
case, modern technology is beneficial to democracy.

For sure, modern technology has disrupted traditional modes of communication. Just a few
decades ago, we were largely dependent on print media, television and radio for
information. If such modes of communication are highly regulated by the government, then
opinions tend to be suppressed. The rise of technology changes that (at least in the short-
term). Many people believe that they can express themselves freely on the Internet as it
remains largely unregulated. I beg to differ. The Internet is simply another mode of
communication. It is a tool. If the tool is used to obstruct the government from meeting its
objectives, there would surely be intervention of some form. It takes time for the policies
and laws to be updated but eventually, governments will implement them. In Singapore, The
Protection From Online Falsehoods and Manipulation (POFMA) took effect in year 2019 to
prevent individuals from making use of the Internet to cause damage to another person’s
reputation simply by posting baseless accusations. Recently, wealthy youths and young
adults in China were flaunting their wealth online and the Chinese were quick to recognize
that this had a negative influence on the general public as such activities promote arrogance
and wastage. The authorities took swift action and banned numerous social media accounts
that they deemed detrimental to Chinese culture. Clearly, the belief that modern technology
offers complete freedom is an illusion. Governments maintain full control. Hence, it is clear
that modern technology, in reality, has limited impact and does not easily threaten the
existing system of governance (be it democracy or others).

Detractors may argue that some people may make use of the Internet to magnify the flaws
of democracy and hence, cause others to lose confidence in democracy. For instance,
extremists may take to the Internet to radicalize young and gullible citizens and encourage
them to perform acts of terrorism. In this case, one may argue that modern technology
threatens democracy because it gives rise to unruly and violent behaviour. In 2015, two
adults who radicalized themselves via social media were arrested and detained in Singapore
under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The ISA gives the government the power to detain
individuals without trial. Although controversial, the ISA has been enforced and proven
somewhat effective in weeding out potential threats that arise from the use of modern
technology. Hence, confidence levels in democracy remain largely unaffected due to the
presence of similar laws.

Detractors may also use the Internet to point out egregious imperfections directly to
dampen confidence in democracy. For instance, one may go online to point out that too
much freedom of speech can lead to an unstable political climate. Without stability, a
country is less likely to be able to continue attracting foreign investments and hence,
livelihoods are at stake. By stoking fear, one may become successful in destabilizing a
country. Protests could be rife in public streets. Public confidence in the elected government
would plunge to an all-time low and hence, threaten democracy.
Admittedly, these concerns are understandable and even legitimate. However, one must not
forget that although these are austere concerns, governments are taking an active interest in
them. As mentioned, having no regulations at present does not mean that regulations will
not come into effect in the near future. With time, governments are realizing that policies
and laws need to be updated to deal with problematic concerns. In China, in the name of
national security, all foreign social media platforms are banned and citizens are only allowed
access to local social media platforms, which are closely monitored and highly regulated by
the Chinese government. In New Zealand, the country has recently announced that it will
start to regulate social media content to deal with misinformation. Again, this clearly shows
that modern technology has little or no impact on a country’s system of governance as it can
be controlled and regulated if a government chooses to.

In conclusion, the rise of modern technology has given everyone additional channels to voice
their opinions. In other words, we have more choices than ever. I firmly believe that
technology has given democracy a boost. At times, technology may appear to threaten
democracy. However, these threats can easily be curbed by incumbent governments and
therefore, modern technology poses little threat to democracy.

(1102 words)