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Cited by 1,314

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 36 of the 36 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The virtual sphere: The internet as a public sphere

Papacharissi, Zizi·2002·New Media & Society

Abstract

The internet and its surrounding technologies hold the promise of reviving the public sphere; however, several aspects of these new technologies simultaneously curtail and augment that potential. First, the data storage and retrieval capabilities of internet-based technologies infuse political discussion with information otherwise unavailable. At the same time, information access inequalities and new media literacy compromise the representativeness of the virtual sphere. Second, internet-based technologies enable discussion between people on far sides of the globe, but also frequently fragmentize political discourse. Third, given the patterns of global capitalism, it is possible that internet-based technologies will adapt themselves to the current political culture, rather than create a new one. The internet and related technologies have created a new public space for politically oriented conversation; whether this public space transcends to a public sphere is not up to the technology itself.

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Metadata

Authors
Papacharissi, Z.
Venue
New Media & Society
Published
2002-02
Volume
4
Issue
1
Pages
9-27
ISSN
  • 1461-4448 (ISSN-L)
  • 1461-7315
OpenAlex
W2124467293
Cited by
1,314
References
36
FWCI
50.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The virtual sphere: The internet as a public sphere. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1177/14614440222226244
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Papacharissi, Z. (2002). The virtual sphere: The internet as a public sphere. New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614440222226244

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Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.