'We Media' and democracy
There is a large variety of different ways people access the news, for example, newspapers, tv, radio, online articles and smart phone applications via social media. The newspaper 'The Sun' is the most popular newspaper, however through some research it is evident that the older generation are buying newspapers and the generation today are interested in technology a lot more, therefore the popular newspapers 'The Guardian' and 'The Daily Mail' can also be viewed online. I access the news mainly through my mobile phone, this is because it is easy access and there is a hypersonic way of disseminating therefore the news travels a lot faster through the technology, however social media sites such as Facebook often display news contents although its not always genuine. Personally I don't watch the news or read a newspaper, however I do look on news articles online on my phone or read articles on social media networks such as Facebook however I do look in to whether its trusted or not.
I also view the news on my phone on the BBC news app, and i have selected topics I am interested in which makes it more engaging when I read through it, for example a few of the topics I have picked are 'mobile phones, children and social network' this refreshes my news feed so I can read the news which I am interested in reading. There is a danger of reading the news online as people always get into the trap where they believe the news content its almost like Chinese whispers but online.
Recently the main headlines on the news are the hurricane in Miami and Florida, North Korea, and Brexit these news events are not the most engaging topics, however it is still important that everyone should know what is happening around the world. The North Korea news event about the bomb, indicates that the bomb could be set off at any time and there could be another war, however no one actually knows the truth on the news as no one has been in contact with North Korea therefore this implies we shouldn't rely on everything we see and read on the internet. I accessed this news from the BBC news app which is on my phone this is easy to access but also because these news events are large, i have seen them on newspaper covers,on the TV and also on social media apps.
The 3rd royal baby is shared information, therefore its found on social media a lot and a lot of people have discussed it around the world.I found this information from the news on TV and the newspaper and heard it on the radio, This makes people feel happy for them and some people decide to name their own children after the name of the royal baby therefore its a popular event.
In my opinion i think that people have started relying too much on the internet rather than newspapers, It is evident of this as I see on my Facebook news feed people sharing news which is not true for example that famous people have died and people start commenting 'RIP' even when its a hoax, is this really acceptable that everyone relies on things such as social media, Facebook,twitter, Instagram? Even the new trending application snap chat has its own cosmopolitan, this has its positives and its negatives as the app is mostly used by the younger generation,therefore it allows the young people to browse the news through the app, however how truthful exactly is the app? Most people are trapped into believing all of the news and information on the internet is the truth. People are becoming addicted to their smart phones simply because they are easy access and everyone wants them on them all the time because they are a hypersonic way of disseminating and because they are a fashion statement people are not going into shops and buying newspapers, people are relying too much on the internet and social media.
It's interesting that you feel that people rely too much on the internet for their news and this is affecting people's understanding of what is true and what is not. How can we know in the modern age? Perhaps websites such as Channel 4's 'Fact Check' are a way forward. Gossip sites are one thing and they have existed for a long time in terms of magazines and newspapers but one story that was entirely false during the US election (but read and shared by many) was that Hillary Clinton was involved in a paedophile ring that had been covered up.
ReplyDeleteHow can we as citizens become better at reading through news and information and developing better filters? Thanks for your thoughts.