The internet against democracy

Digitalization reveals the distance between the democratic ideal and its practical reality. Only a society that is open, sceptical and flexible can adapt successfully to this transformation, writes Manuel Arias Maldonado for Eurozine

First paragraph

We are becoming adults: It is already four years since the German language admitted into its rich vocabulary, by means of the twenty-sixth edition of the prestigious Duden dictionary, the English word shitstorm. And although the expression has not yet taken hold among Spanish-speakers, the practice of it is as popular here as in other liberal public spheres elsewhere.

Shitstorm: without any need for coordination, a group of people insult or otherwise dismiss another media user, public figure or company because of something they have done or said on social media or anywhere else. A textbook example is the reaction to the interview given by the Spanish actress Paula Echevarría to Zeleb, a digital platform devoted to celebrity culture: an avalanche of denigratory tweets fell upon her because of what was interpreted as an insufficient defence of the cause of feminism.

There are also less glamorous options: after inviting the public to send in ideas in a competition to design a limited edition of one of their products, the German detergent brand Pril unleashed the ire of those who took part by rejecting the one that got the most votes – ‘it tastes better if it tastes like chicken’ – due to its mocking tone. Dazzled by the public reaction, however, the company produced one hundred and eleven bottles with an image of an enraged monster on them, and distributed them in a lottery via Facebook. It’s better to laugh than cry.

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