What forms of new media do you use daily? How has new social media influenced your perspective of events? Are these positive or negative influences?
I use new media on a daily basis. Not only is social media useful to stay in touch with friends and family, but it is an easy and quick way to receive the news. I enjoy Facebook and do not take it too seriously. I connect with friends to discuss upcoming events and stay in touch with family members (it is also great for birthday reminders.) There is so much tension in every day life, that I like to use satire/sarcasm in a lot of my posts. However, some people may not understand that sense of humor or they may not be as media literate so I do need to be careful on how or what I post on. Our digital footprints began since the dawn of the World Wide Web and everything is pretty much traceable, even with privacy settings. What we put on social media is a direct reflection of who we are, so it is important to remember that when making comments and posting pictures. I also use Twitter and Instagram. Twitter is a great way to receive news in real time and Instagram is used mostly to share photos and filter pictures to boost our morale.
Over time, my perspective of events has changed. The more I have used social media to look at breaking news, the more I know to check multiple sources first and to not "jump the gun" before making a conclusion. Today's media seems to care more about being the first to announce something, rather than being the most ethical. This can be seen in the case of Gabrielle Giffords. When she was shot in Arizona, multiple news stations confirmed her as dead, when in reality, Gabrielle was in surgery. The news stations had to retract their statements and issue apologies, this in turn ruins their credibility as a source for accurate information. I understand the pressures that the new media have to report, as we, the consumer have set these expectations.
I would say that these influences can be both positive and negative, not one or the other. The positives are that we can receive news quicker than ever before, with the click of the mouse, social media allows us to share news and cross physical borders around the world without ever leaving your seat. The negative aspects are that if someone is not media literate or doesn't reference check, they may believe everything they read or hear. Also, news sources are losing credibility by not giving accurate information to the public.
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteI like that you said, "The negative aspects are that if someone is not media literate or doesn't reference check, they may believe everything they read or hear" and my first thought (perhaps I am a cynic) is "What if that is the majority of the population?" After all, we are a society that kept the Simpsons as the longest-running American sitcom ever. Really? The Simpsons is what we valued so greatly? So I believe there are many in danger of not being media literate and as you say, "may believe everything they read or hear." It worries me.
It worries me too, I hope that people can learn to really look at the source that posts things.
DeleteThanks for the blog post.
ReplyDeleteKatie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your blog posts and agreed with a lot of what you said. I am just like you when it comes to Facebook and how it is something that I really dont take serious. Not sure how I really can when people posts about their daily routine every hour of every day. Most of the articles and stories that I do see posted on Facebook are some sort of horoscope or questionnaire that tells you what color you are and why. Social media is something that I use daily, however, not really to the extent that others do, I am more into browsing sports pages and playing games then I am using Facebook. I really like when you mentioned how Today's media seems to care more about being the first to announce something, rather than being the most ethical. I agree fully with this and find it amusing that when someone reads an article that just came out about the latest event, they tell everyone, then 10 minutes later have to retract what they said because they didn't wait for facts to come out. I have noticed tho that those media outlets that are the first to report something, whether it is correct or incorrect, I tend to remember and keep checking back to see if they provide updates. So, I guess in their minds, their intentions are working as they are dragging me back to their site to check for updates when they are not the most trustworthy source out there. Again, I really liked you blog and have a random question. If you were had to report something or share some information that you knew of and didn't have all the details, but you knew if you got the message out, you could help someone, would you report it knowing you didn't really know anything about it, and what platform would you use and why?
Hi Ryan, thank you for your question. I think it depends on the situation and what that news was. If I knew it pertained to many people, I would most likely post on FB because it is a good way to reach a lot of people, however, like you mentioned it is not the most reliable. I would post about it and also mention HOW sure I was of the information I was posting. I would say something like "I am not 100% sure if this is true but I just heard about..." If it pertained to my close friends and family I would do a group text because it is more private and they would take it seriously but again I would mention that I wasn't completely sure. What would you do?
ReplyDelete