While social media started as a medium to be social with those you already know or a method of meeting people, today social media has taken on a life of its own. The internet is not only flooded with articles and YouTube stories, but stories which involve the use of social media in one way or another. We’ll explore a few examples of how the news is using social media for several of their stories.
Channel 7 news reported on this article a few months ago. The article (http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Parents-using-Facebook-to-keep.6537665.jp) deals with parents who are using Facebook to keep track of their kids’ activities and social life while the children are away at college. It was thought that the older generation would prefer Linkedin instead of Facebook, however, now we see that our caretakers have an ulterior motive. The article says that 76% of the parents surveyed admitted to checking their child’s Facebook page to see what their child or children have been up to. With that said kids are now wizening up and refusing to befriend their parents on Facebook, 71% to be exact. So for all of you young adults out there who think they’re parents aren’t satisfied with the cryptic answers you give them when they ask you about your social life, be leery of parents trying to be your friend.
If you thought that your parents following your social activities via social media was the scariest thought you could conjure up, imagine the Feds following your actions online. This article (http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&sid=2080366) speaks to that topic. The article tells us that the Feds are using social media to gather private information on the users. “By "friending" users on Facebook, Flickr, Myspace, Twitter and other social media sites, federal investigators can gather information involving immigration and homeland security cases.”
The most unfortunate and most popular, at least in the Rutgers community, has to do with the death of Tyler Clementi. The use of social media seems to be the catalyst that triggered this event. For those unfamiliar with the story, Clementi was a freshman at Rutgers University whose roommate videotaped him having a sexual encounter with another male. Clementi’s roommate then broadcast the footage on Youtube. So overwhelmed and mortified by this invasion of privacy, Clementi committed suicide by jumping of a New York City bridge. (See this link http://abcnews.go.com/US/victim-secret-dorm-sex-tape-commits-suicide/story?id=11758716 for more information on this story.) Yet again we have another example of social media involved in today’s news media.
These past three examples tell us that social media is not only being used by today’s youth and it is not being used only for socialization purposes. It is clear to see that the amount of news stories involving the use of social media has drastically increased. Perhaps this is due to how great an impact social media has on our lives today. Has social media grown that large that the news can not report the news without mentioning some type of social media website? What do you think?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGreat post,Ruel. I think the Chilean miners rescue is also a great example of the domination of socal media. With the help of technology and fiber optics, viewers and media alike were able to gain first-hand experience of what happened more than 2300 feet underground and experience a rescue that not only captivated Chilean audiences, but audiences all over the world.
ReplyDeleteThanks T!!!
ReplyDelete