The Impact and Benefits of Intrernet Usage in Presidential Election Campaign

The emergence of technology, in this particular case internet, has affected the dynamics of politics in Indonesia. Internet has been used as a medium in achieving political power, for instance in presidential, members of the legislature, or district head election campaign. In the said campaigns, many efforts have been attempted, both negative and black campaigns. Unfortunately, even though the campaign period has ended, the competition between both parties is still yet to come to an end. This paper aims to discuss the positive and negative impacts of internet usage as a campaign medium and how to overcome its negative impacts. To elaborate and answer the questions, the author of this study did a literature study regarding the use of internet in 2014 presidential election campaign. The results found that, despite its negative impacts, internet is an effective medium of campaign. The efforts in resolving the negative impacts shall include building an improved structure of political communication based on political ethics