Social Media: A Blessing in Disguise

Erin Ashley

ea350918@ohio.edu

With the advancement of technology comes a new era of communication: social media. The usage of social media by the common public has grown exponentially over the last decade.

Because of how universal social media is, many people have turned to it for news and information, in which they form opinions. However, this reliance on social media as a news source in combination with the freedom for people to say whatever they please creates a deadly concoction, and it risks the spread of fake news.

On the other hand, the ever-growing accessibility to social media by the public has driven companies and journalists to utilize such a universal tool. Social media rapidly relays news and information to its users, which allows its audience to be knowledgeable of current events.

Image courtesy of Pew Research Center.

Social media arranges each user's newsfeed to their liking, which means that as one likes and retweets posts that they enjoy, the application will strategically place posts that it thinks the user will enjoy. This skewed way of organization creates a biased array of information on one's feed, which is a detriment to the authenticity that journalists try to preserve according to The Atlantic.

In a video by the Centre for International Governance Innovation, the creators delve into the idea that social media is indirectly "isolating people from the broader civic society". This brings up the question of whether or not social media is spoon-feeding biased information to its users and how this impacts the validity of the news on the platform.

In light of recent events, many people have relied on social media for news surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The public perused social media accounts for any news and information regarding developments or tragedies concerning the pandemic.

The public praised the quick rate of how information traveled thanks to social media. However, Nature spat this praise, as they emphasized how fake news surrounding the coronavirus started rapidly spreading, resulting in a "second pandemic" of falsehood.

Social media is truly the pinnacle of a "blessing in disguise" when it comes to providing news to an audience.  While it provides timely information to a universal audience, the freedom that users have to say whatever they like heightens the likelihood of fake news.

There is a seemingly endless battle between skeptics and idealists about whether or not social media is a trustworthy news source. It is up to us to put our investigative skills to the test and develop our own opinions from fact-based and timely resources.