Has social media increased the quality of news and information
or decreased it?
Social media has neither increased nor decreased the quality
of news and information. There’s just more of it to be had, with even more
access to it. News sources have more methods to gain more information, but have
to do an equal amount of work to make sure that it is correct information. When
anyone can be a publisher, the integrity of the information must be thoroughly
questioned before it can be presented as fact.
With
microblogging tools, such as Twitter, it’s easy to spread small amounts of information
to a large audience. However, with such a limited method of communicating
information, it commonly ends up being misinterpreted, and then further spread
throughout the online community. For example, actor Mark Hamill (famously known
as Luke Skywalker and the dominant voice actor of The Joker) had tweeted that his portrayal of
The Joker in Batman: Arkham City would be his last, leading his thousands of followers to
believe that he was retiring the voice of The Joker for good. This later turned
out to not be true, as he clarified in a later tweet.
Social media has allowed information to be exchanged rapidly, and reaching larger audiences. This creates a lot of room for error in interpretation, and in communicating in the first place. It hasn't really changed the quality of news and information; it has changed the quantity.
Hey Krizz! Another great post! I just want to say that I agree with what you are saying. Social media is not something to be handled lightly when it comes to news. You show in your post how easily it if for individuals to get information wrong. Even though social media has let us transfer information quickly, without the right precautions, this is how hoaxes gets started and information gets tainted.
ReplyDeleteHi Krizz, I Read your post and you raised some good points. That anyone can be a publisher on social media. It also is scary that someone can easily hack into someone social media account and post false information. Good job with the post
DeleteThanks! As a side note, why can't I find your blog?
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DeleteHey Krizz! I read your post and I think you made some really interesting points. I would like to point out that news is not only the raw facts of an article being presented but also the opinion and analysis of the one presenting the article. By giving everyone their own voice to present their own analysis it helps others view different sides of a story. This may not show a quality increase immediately, but it definitely helps open up thinking in larger circles and getting new ideas out there.
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