The Truth About Social Media

So what is the truth about social media? Out of all the different types of social media that have been created throughout the past decade, what have I learned from them? Social media has allowed us to become the generation of instantaneous connectivity. It has made long distance relationships possible, shifted the world of delivering news, and has created new ways for us to communicate with each other, eliminating the possibly of face-to-face communication. How do I know what I know?

Simply because I live in this world each and every day. I have been brought up in a society that began at the beginning of the cell phone age when they were still black text with green screens and large antennas. I remember seeing the first generation Apple computer and thinking that there is nothing cooler than this. I know what I know because in order to communicate and survive in this world I need to be tech savvy. I need to understand how it is I am suppose to communicate and survive in a technological and instantly connected world. I did not grow up in a class that taught me how to use Facebook or Twitter I simply was expected to adapt and adjust to societies new technology in order to survive in the world of communications. Aside from my previous and current education in communications, it is simply based on personal experience along with trial and error. Lets take for example, one new thing that I have learned from using a social media site today. Through personal experience in using social media, I know that not everything that is posted or shared is factual. Opinions, false content, and bias are all a part of the social media realm. Let's take my most recent experience while using Facebook today. Have you ever fallen for a shared post about a recent news story or so the source claims? News flash! Not everything you read is true!! The most recent scandal about Ray Rice being terminated from the Ravens and NFL has been all over the media. Naturally we all want to know more. I use Facebook as an outlet to collect my news since it is the most common platform I use on the internet. When searching for more articles I came across a headline that stated " Ravens Drop Joe Flacco After Watching Video of Him Playing Football". Immediately, I cringe and began reading the article without viewing the source or who wrote it. As I am reading through the article I am thinking "no way, this can not be real". I looked up the sources name and realized it was satire. Now for all of us that know the difference, this would be easy to say it is a fake report based on a true event. However, I believe that social media does use this type of written content to add hype and fiction to their stories to draw viewers. Everything you read on Facebook and social media can not possibly be true, I bet if you went on Facebook right now you could find one story that looks eye catching but is full of false content. I can honestly say that I believe social media sites could not possibly control whether or not information is reliable. Social media sites like Facebook rely on others posts to keep content generated. How would the be able to be positive that the content that is being posted is 100% credible information? Think of how many resources and databases there are to use. If you really wanted to find out whether the source is credible it is up to use to determine and make our own judgements on whether or not we believe the story. Unless the content is solely fact based and can be proved over numerous sources such as a serious car wreck or tropical storm, each written piece of content will always have some sort of bias opion attached to it. I asked my fellow bloggers this, for social media sites like Facebook, do you feel it is possible to regulate credible content 100% of the time.

- As always , Happy Blogging!