EgoCasting: Internet as Political Self-Affirmation

An important psychological consideration in assessing the merits of the Internet as a campaign tool is the concept of “egocasting.” Christine Rosen writes, egocasting is “a world where we exercise an unparalleled degree of control over what we watch and what we hear.” She continues, “We can consciously avoid ideas, sounds, and images that we don’t agree with or don’t enjoy. As sociologists Walker and Bellamy have noted, ‘media audiences are seen as frequently selecting material that confirms their beliefs, values, and attitudes, while rejecting media content that conflicts with these cognitions.’”

On one hand, the Internet offers huge potential to expose the American public to the ideas and messages of diverse political groups. On the other hand, the self-guided nature of the Internet means people will only see information they affirmatively choose to see by clicking on a link. Internet users will quite naturally visit websites of interest to them. In the political arena, people will be most likely to visit sites with ideological and political leanings closest to their own.

With this in mind, we see the folly of TforA's use of Trippi's quote that “People are no longer waiting for the media or the government to give information. Now they are going online and getting it, and then disseminating it. And with that information, they are gaining power.” People are simpley "going online and getting" the information they wish to see-- nothing else, nothing new, and most likely nothing provocative that could change their vote.

This is another very important contrast to the impact TV has had on elections. TV is, to date, an entirely passive form of media with a “one to many” configuration. While Internet’s “many to many” configuration offers important potential to grant everyone a voice, the mode of information intake by individuals is more likely to reinforce existing political groups than to attract new subscribers.