"Who's in your circle?"

Since we were younger, we have always been defined through the people we associate ourselves with. Usually these people listen to the same type of music as you, have similar religious beliefs, or maybe just all shop at the same three stores. Jurgen Habermas defines a public sphere as a thing where a public opinion can be formed, with media forms including newspapers, radio, and television. These forms of media still remain relevant for the new public spheres that have developed, but also have branched out to include things such as the Internet, blogging, podcasts, and so many more!

While people are within their group, they form opinions about other groups that are established and some type of leader shines through. The position of a leader within a group is present no matter what - from small groups, like a clique at school, to large groups, like political parties. People also gain confidence within their group and aren't as afraid to voice their opinions. A major problem with the public sphere is that sometimes groups don't always feel the same as the majority - which leads to issues with freedom of speech or conflicting interests between parties involved.

One of the most amazing forms of media to me is the Internet. The fact that mass amounts of information can be publicized to such an array of people is astonishing. It's also an amazing source because it doesn't just have one type of person following it. EVERYBODY uses the Internet - from mothers looking up a new recipe for dinner to grandparents receiving e-mails of pictures of their first grandchild. Sure, different sites cater to different followings of people, however the Internet as a whole is not targeted to one particular public sphere. And because of this, we are able to bypass ignorance and sometimes even bring together unexpected groups of beliefs, or merge public spheres to one large ball!