The Internet and it's role as a public sphere has revolutionised the way individuals and groups alike have been able to communicate and get their message heard to others across the globe. As a public sphere, the Internet is seen as "not private, but accessible and observable by all" (Paracharissi, 2002, 10). Despite the increasing number of global Internet users, the above quote does not seem to be the case. Nielsen (2009), indicated 80.1% of Australians with Internet access which indicates that this technological resource is not in fact, "accessible by all". In less developed continents Internet usage is much lower than that of Australia, with only 10.9% of those in Africa with Internet access resulting in a worldwide Internet usage rate of 28.7%. (World Internet Stats, 2010)
The Internet as a public sphere does allow for increased sharing of ideas and the interconnectivity of those who would otherwise never be able to communicate, yet it cannot really be classified as a public sphere due to limited access to the disadvantaged. (Paracharissi, 2002, 15)
The Internet is utilised for political means by thousands or perhaps millions world wide, with a recent example of Internet use by the people who would otherwise go unheard being that of the recent protests in Egypt, much of which was fuelled by twitter and facebook, as well as many protests being uploaded to Youtube (Ungerleider, 2011).
References
Nielsen, 2002
Paracharissi, 2002, New Media and Society
Ungerleider, 2011, Fast Company
World Internet Statistics, 2010
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