Guy Aitchison (Bristol, OK): Facebook often throws up the most bizarre information. What practical use could I possibly have, for example, for the information that at 7:57am "Rachel left the group Mr. Kipling Appreciation Society (MKAS)"? You might say that I should make an effort to offer her a range of confectionaries upon her next visit, but then I haven't seen her in years and am unlikely to in the near future. It's true that other items blasted at me via the 'News Feed' do seem to be demanding more serious attention, but some commentators have gone so far as to suggest that Facebook's massive popularity could lead to dramatic changes in the way politics is conducted.
Take an appropriately constitutional example from today. Upon logging in I was immediately drawn to a message which read "Robin joined the group SAVE THE LORDS!". Intrigued, I followed the link. SAVE THE LORDS!, it seems, is part of an organized campaign to oppose an elected second chamber. At the top of the screen visitors are informed that "in an act of unparalleled constitutional and cultural vandalism, Members of Parliament voted for a fully elected Upper House". Examples of the "allegedly democratic Iraq and Afghanistan" are then offered as proof of the perils of democracy. Perhaps the first time I've heard Iraq used as an argument for less democracy in this country, I thought.
But just as I was about to dismiss the entire project as the fulminations of a reactionary fantasist, I noticed that it in fact had 3,185 members - a respectable number by anyone's reckoning. And there was more. One enthusiastic member with Churchill as his profile picture was inviting people to join the group "Oppose Brown's Constitutional Reforms" which warns its visitors in sombre Burkean tones against removing the "important safeguards inbuilt into the British Monarchy which have protected our country from tyranny for centuries."
There is of course a long list of progressive, democratic groups to go alongside these, but I think it would be misguided to use Facebook as some kind of political barometer let alone suggest it is revolutionising politics. Knowing my generally apathetic friend, he probably joined SAVE THE LORDS!, with little reflection, as some kind of anti-PC statement. People have all sorts of reasons for starting and joining groups in the first place, and so I'm guessing (or at least hoping) that the linked groups with names like "Bring Back the British Empire" are no more than ironic student banter. Although these groups can act as a useful source of up-to-date political information (I found the Protect Freedom of Information group particularly useful), joining them entails no commitments. Like indicating a preference for "exceedingly good cakes", it requires but the click of a mouse. You might even join to please the friend who invited you.
And so, at the moment, although I take an interest, I remain sceptical about any dramatic claims concerning Facebook and democracy.
