HOW DO INDIVIDUALS USE SOCIAL MEDIA?

Individuals use social media for a wide variety of uses, ranging from connecting with others, sharing their lives online, and simply building a digital portfolio of memories. There is also another side of social media that employs many people. By employ, I do not mean the ins and outs of social media and the behind-the-scenes work, I mean people who are paid to share their lives and influence their followers through promoting brands that they are affiliated with. This kind of social media use is becoming increasingly popular nowadays and many young adults are beginning to make a living from doing this. While social media was once a space to connect with friends and family online and share photos and videos, it has now become a mechanism for marketing, news broadcasting, and various other usages. This idea of an ever-changing usage of social media reminds me of what Julie Smith explained regarding media literacy and how there will always be something new, that will forever be changing.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BEING IN THE PUBLIC EYE AND HAVING A PLN?

Being in the public eye comes with many advantages, as your reach for communicating and influencing others is so much greater. First off, the network that you have through being in the public eye is much greater, as more people are likely to see your content and reach out to connect. This can create far greater opportunities for growth in whatever field or career path that you choose. Additionally, networking through social media and learning the ways to present yourself through media in the public eye provide you with skills that can be used in any career, as social media is continuously being brought into many fields. As Sophie Lui (Miller, 2022) mentions, before having a platform on social media, there was much more effort that had to be put into getting a job and networking in order to maintain connections. It is not as simple as communicating with an employer about an ad for a job that you saw. In this sense, I feel this brings up a benefit of being in the public eye as your access and effort put into maintaining and building connections is lessened. When you are in the public eye, more people are likely reaching out to you with opportunities, rather than you having to seek them yourselves.

MEDIA LITERACY AND ITS IMPORTANCE:

As highlighted by Julie Smith (Miller, 2021), media literacy is centred around being conscious consumers of the media and actively reflecting on the information that we take in. This is a topic that is becoming increasingly important as social media expands, as we are consistently fed information, both true and false. As Julie explains, you can essentially find any information that you want on the internet to back up what you believe. It is for this reason that we need to take a step back and not simply confirm our biases based on our prior beliefs, but analyze the sources we are getting our information from and the validity that they hold. Julie also brings up an important note about questioning the target audiences, perceived profits, and intent of the media that we consume. For instance, if you are being provided news information from a TikTok drama account about the inside scoop on a celebrities life, it is important to question what the intent was of posting a video exposing someone else’s life. Did the individual make the post cause they were genuinely concerned about the well-being of the famous celebrity? Or did it provide a catchy headline and a piece that would receive thousands of clicks? Through consistently asking ourselves these questions and analyzing our consumption of media, we are able to lessen the spreading of misinformation while also remaining conscious of the ways that media can mislead us.

WHY IS IT POTENTIALLY DISMISSED AS VALUABLE (FAKE NEWS)?

Media can very easily be dismissed as valuable, partly due to our own personal biases, but also due to the intent of those publishing the media. As Hirst (2018) explains, fake news is a growing issue that has caused various issues, specifically in politics. Fake news is somewhat like modern-day propaganda, where the media uses false information to sway the beliefs of the public, all while making the information seem true and justifiable. It has even become a goal of journalists to a certain degree, in order to pull the reader in and twist the story in a way to influence the readers’ view. Unfortunately, a journalist writing a factual post about current events will likely not provide the same monetary reward as writing an untruthful post that catches the public eye. In this sense, it is no doubt that readers believe what they are told through the media, as the information seems legitimate and is framed in a manner that intrigues the reader.

References

Hirst, M. (2018). Navigating social journalism: A handbook for media literacy and citizen journalism (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.4324/9781315401263

Miller, J. (2021, June 6). EDCI 338 – Media literacy with Julie Smith. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57r3-aEnci0

Miller, J. (2022, June 6). Sophie Lui – EDCI 338. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfcXgKLzOVM