Social Media and The News

I believe that, like a lot of things when it comes to social media, the connection between social media and the news is a bit more complicated than just yay or nay. I do believe that there is a definite increase in the quantity and availability of the news because of social media, but I think that the quality of the news brought to us by social media has both increased and decreased.

Where I see the increase in the quality of the news is in the fact that it reaches a far wider audience than that group of the population who regularly watch the news, listen to the radio, or read the newspaper. Stories can now reach a far larger audience than they have previously (although it's also possible to argue that listening to or reading or watching the news used to be a far more widespread activity itself, but that's an argument for another time). Social media also offers the opportunity to see and discuss different opinions on news stories. This is something that was certainly far more difficult in the past. Yes you could, for example, have a conversation about a current event with your friends or family, but now it's possible to have an ongoing discussion of a news story with dozens or even hundreds of different people at a time, all of them bringing something of their own to the conversation.

I do also, however, see how social media has decreased the quality of news and information. One of the very things that I just praised as an aspect of quality -the reach and availability of a news story- unfortunately has a flip side to it. Because of how easy it is to broadcast a story or information to billions of people almost instantly, it has also become easier to market a falsified story or information to those same billions of people. This is probably because this information no longer has to make necessarily its way across the desk of a reputable news reporter who would have to fact check everything before passing it on to the public. Technology has made it very easy to Photoshop pictures and to make information seem legitimate, that users of social media must be sure to think for themselves and to question the information they receive so that they can be sure that they are being properly informed. There's nothing worse on the internet than ignorance and mass panic.

There are pros and cons to almost everything in life, social media and the news is no exception, but I think if I had to pick just one option I'd say that social media has increased the quality of news and information. Yes, you do have to be careful about what you're seeing and reading and learn to question everything you take in, but I believe that the reach of social media as well as the vast variety of subjects that it opens you up to more than make up for the care that needs to be taken (really you should be questioning all the information you take in, whether it supposedly comes from a reputable source or not!). Personally, I wasn't nearly so well informed before I found social media. I've learnt so much from the information that I've come across because of social media and I think that it's definitely a great thing and the way of the future.