Is Social Media a Good or Bad Source for News?

Social media has allowed everyday citizens to become authors, editors, and publishers of news and information. Do you believe that social media has increased the quality of news and information or decreased it?

Social media has drastically changed the perspective of news, becoming a primary news source. Some audiences may turn to the newspaper and others may turn to sources through social networking sites such as, Twitter and Facebook (Boididou, Papadopoulos, Newman, Schifferes, & Kompatsiaris, 2014). When it comes to social media, we are all very aware of how quickly anything can be posted and be seen by any audience. Can we trust the pieces of information that gets leaked into the public? How do we know if the quality of the content is valid? Where are the sources coming from? (Boididou, Papadopoulos, Newman, Schifferes, & Kompatsiaris, 2014) We all have to look closely and carefully at the facts.

It gets me thinking to the point that social media has decreased our quality of news, due to the fact that there is a large scale of mis-information and false claims that proliferate rapidly through social networks. In addition, anyone can become an author, or editor leading to the publishing of incorrect information that it becomes difficult to tell who created the original source in the first place (Seo, Mohapatra, & Abdelzaher). I had come across an article that discussed upon the wake of social media and its impact on news. According to a study done by Pew Research, 70% of consumers retrieve most news links from relatives and friends on Facebook, while 13% retrieved it from news journalists (Mitchell, Rosentiel, & Christian, 2012). Surprising isn’t it? Think about it, most audiences are relying on Facebook for daily news rather than going directly to the news website. 

                  

Nowadays, Facebook is a primary example of shared news that eventually becomes a hoax, such as false celebrity death rumours. An example was the Morgan Freeman death rumours that circulated quickly, causing the creation of a fake Facebook tribute page titled, “R.I.P Morgan Freeman,” reaching up to 1 million likes (Kelly, 2012).

             

Another example of how social media misleads information to individuals, led into the investigation of the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombings (Boididou, Papadopoulos, Newman, Schifferes, & Kompatsiaris, 2014). Twitter users began to make wrongful assumptions to identifying the suspect; containing pieces of wrong information and accusing innocent people, causing distress amongst friends and family (Boididou, Papadopoulos, Newman, Schifferes, & Kompatsiaris, 2014). 

                               

It can become problematic when the reliability of news coming from social networks can have such false trails (Boididou, Papadopoulos, Newman, Schifferes, & Kompatsiaris, 2014). What can we do to prevent such issues of false rumours? How can we distinguish between real and false information? Well, we can dig deeper into the story to determine the relevance of the content and look for patterns that may get us to the answer (Boididou, Papadopoulos, Newman, Schifferes, & Kompatsiaris, 2014). Remember, to always double check with trusted sources; you never know if the information reported could be accurate or false.

References

Boididou, C., Papadopoulos, S., Newman, N., Schifferes, S., & Kompatsiaris, Y. (2014, March 26). Verification of Social Media Content for News. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from SNOW Workshop: http://www.snow-workshop.org/2014/?p=160

Kelly, M. S. (2012, November 5). 8 Social Media Hoaxes You Fell for This Year. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from Mashable: http://mashable.com/2012/11/05/social-media-hoaxes/#_

Mitchell, A., Rosentiel, T., & Christian, L. (2012). What Facebook and Twitter Mean for News. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism - The State of the News Media: http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2012/mobile-devices-and-news-consumption-some-good-signs-for-journalism/what-facebook-and-twitter-mean-for-news/

Seo, E., Mohapatra, P., & Abdelzaher, T. (n.d.). Identifying Rumors and Their Sources in Social Networks. Approach, University of Illinois; University of California, Urbana; Davis. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://spirit.cs.ucdavis.edu/pubs/conf/prasant-spie12.pdf

My thoughts on the Revolution of Social Media

What is your perception of social media, do you think it is a fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?

Social media can be viewed both negatively and positively, depending on how our society chooses to use it to their advantage. However, social media has been the biggest shift throughout the years and has changed the way we connect through the globe. With the click of a button, there are more services at our very own reach that has become even more accessible and inexpensive, the education system has been expanded through online learning and we are able to connect with individuals from all over the globe. From online shopping to hybrid courses, are some of a few examples of innovation that adjusts to the needs of customers and students, providing flexibility in the comfort of your own home. In relation to the video, “Social Media Revolution,” it was very detailed and eye-opening to read the statistics based on how social media has revolutionized our society. An interesting fact that caught to my attention was, “the years it has taken to reach 50 million users through, the television: 13 years, internet: 4 years, and Facebook: 100 million users in less than 9 months (WebSpy).” It is quite surprising to see the popularity of social media rapidly increasing with more activity and users creating accounts daily through well-known social networking sites such as, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and many more (WebSpy).

An example that brought attention to many individuals across Canada was the ALS ice bucket challenge, where participants took part in the challenge by pouring a bucket of ice and water over their heads to raise awareness for ALS. To give a brief description, ALS, otherwise known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neuromuscular disease in which the nerve cells die, leading to muscle weakness, followed by paralysis that spreads throughout the body (ALS Canada). In support of the ALS research, approximately 260,000 Canadians who partook to fight against the ALS disease, raised over $16 million through the ice bucket challenge (ALS Canada). With the record-breaking donation in history, the ALS research has partnered with Brain Canada bringing a total investment of $20 million, while $6 million in programs provided critical support to Canadians who are living with ALS (ALS Canada). You can do your part by participating in the 2015 WALK for ALS (ALS Canada). Below the description, a link will be posted in regards to the walk and how you can register if interested. Thank you for reading and use social media wisely!

Link to 2015 WALK for ALS in Ontario:
http://www.walkforals.ca/ontario

References:

ALS Canada. (n.d.). ALS Society of Canada. Retrieved January 14, 2015, from 260,000 CANADIANS RAISE OVER $16 MILLION THROUGH ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE: http://als.ca/en/news/awareness/als-societies-across-canada-commit-10-million-als-research-and-announce-new

WebSpy. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2015, from Social Media – The Biggest Shift Since the Industrial Revolution?: http://webspy.com/blogs/social-media-is-here-to-sta/

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"God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well." - Voltaire.

It is the start of a new year. To continue onto the path that we were destined for. Create memories that will last for a lifetime. We may be faced with either ups or downs. This is all a part of life. A chance to express ourselves when we get the moment to. Take the time to spend your every moment with friends, and family. Embrace the good life to make a difference in your path.