Addison Dombrowiak’s discussion

The public sphere definition can change from person to person, but the most common way to define the public sphere would be that it is the realm where people can communicate, with no surveillance and free speech. An example here on campus would be the Willard Preacher. He can publicly express his ideas and opinions in front of the Willard Building thanks to free speech. The public sphere is a way to make mass communication flow and gives people a place where they can voice their opinions.  The public sphere can also be considered public opinion which can be dangerous because it allows certain opinions to hold control. In other countries around the world have different definitions of what a public sphere is. 
The United States public sphere is very open. They have extensive free press and speech and a legislative body. The United States also keeps Church and State separate, allowing for sometimes two differing opinions which can lead to issues on topics such as abortion and LGBTQ rights. Ghana also has a very similar public sphere. They also have extensive free speech and press. They have a parliament which is also a legislative body. However, they have little separation between Church and State which leads to extensive influence in decision making and law-making, making it difficult at times. 
Cuba differs the most in their formation of its public sphere. Cuba has little free speech and little free press, making it hard for them to express opinions or create new ideas. The only time that Cuba has extensive free speech is during the constitutional reform. Cuba is largely atheist which encourages no Church vs. State conflicts, however, atheism is largely enforced by the state making it from my perspective, almost feel forced upon the Cuban people. 
The virtual public sphere is another type of public sphere but is one that is in media or the internet. The United States has a very open virtual public sphere, as the internet and various social media applications give us access to pretty much anything at our fingertips. I think that the public sphere in the United States has both decreased and increased our engagement. 
A way that the virtual public sphere helps keep us engaged is it keeps us informed. With the internet, we are introduced to ideas and opinions that we may not have known about without internet access. For example, I know personally that I would not be informed about what is going on in politics without internet applications such as Twitter. Although I know I should be more informed and not by applications such as Twitter, but apps give me snippets of news that I otherwise would have passively ignored before. The virtual public sphere keeps us engaged by helping us be more informed. 
However, I do think that the virtual public sphere does make the United States also disengaged from daily life. Everyone is so obsessed with posting their lives, thoughts, and opinions on social media applications that they don't fully live in the moment. People also sometimes believe everything that they see on the virtual public sphere. Take the broom phenomena that happened last night (2/10). People read something on the internet and believed it even though a broom will stand up on any night of the year. So yes, in the United States the public sphere keeps us informed but can also make us disinformed and can disengage us from everyday life that is happening right in front of us.