Abstract

This article describes how the Internet affects usage and expectations about traditional media in Chile since 2003. It also discusses the influence of this technology on political expectations of Chileans. Results are based on the World Internet Project’s (WIP) questionnaire, and are compared to other countries. Although WIP covers a much broader range of subjects in which the web is influencing everyday life, we focused on these two due to their relevance: three quarters of Chileans get their perceptions about reality from TV, one of the two media aside radio which has universal penetration. Besides, newspapers are highly influential on definining the news agenda of all the other media. If the web affects them, it may affect also political perceptions of empowerment since users can circumvent these gatekeepers of information in order to mobilise collectively, speak louder to governments and the like. In other words, this is a way to tentatively check whether this technology is not only changing society irreversibly and dramatically, but that it is the main cause of change. Yet we were not able to fully demonstrate this.