What forms of new media do you use daily? How has new social media influenced your perspective of events? Are these positive or negative influences?
New media is a huge part of my life. I work in online marketing so everyday I am using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and Pinterest. My personal life and media usage is also the same. I easily spend 7 hours a day on these mediums.
Twitter is the most relevant to events and it's influence on my own perspective. I constantly have my feed open on Twitter so I can monitor what other's are saying about current events or trending hashtags. It's inevitable that some of these opinions make impressions on me. Twitter and other media forms open up communication to current events from people who you have never met. This allows us to gain different perspectives on events and situations that we may previously not have had access to.
A great example of this is the recent Malaysian Jet Liner crash that drew the attention of the Twitterverse and beyond. Many different specialists were giving their opinion on the situation, and even people who had NO idea what happened. All of this was able to occur because of new media platforms.
Overall I think new media helps us gain new perspective on topics we previously would have been close minded about. With more people able to give opinions, chances are you can gain new insight or understanding on a situation or event you previously looked at from only one angle.
Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteYour point about your news feed making an impression on you is something that I hadn’t previously considered. Even when I am not posting something, I constantly monitor my time lines on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram throughout the day. I agree with you that social media gives people access to stories and issues that we would normally be close minded about and your example about the Malaysian Jet Liner is perfect. While this is not a typical American “interest” piece, constant updates on social media and the push notifications I receive enable me to check sites for more information and instant updates. The continuous coverage of this story has been picked up around the world, and just shows that we are now citizens of the world; the technology that was created new media, seems to be a result of that.
Thanks Ashley! I love the variety that social media allows us in information, but the good comes with the bad, for sure.
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