Social Medias Quality of Giving News and Information

I believe that social media has decreased the quality of news and information because a lot of what you see or hear from social medias can be false or non accurate information. People can now make up their own news or non important news and post it every where like on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I find some people post videos about news on Youtube that doesn’t even relate to what the title of the video states or what the information is about. Also, it has been edited to what the poster believes or what they want the viewers to believe. Moreover, a lot of these websites can post information but have no source/proof on where they got or heard there information.(They can misrepresent themselves and there is no one to answer to.)

A good example of this is with 911, a lot of theorist made posts of inaccurate information, that the government was responsible for the falling of the twin towers. They post videos over the net and articles trying to persuade viewers to believe in their information, which can cause people to doubt what is real and what is false. Also another good example is Wikipedia, since anyone can post/edit information and possibility give inaccurate or false information. You also never know where these people are getting there information from.

Therefore, what I’m trying to get to is that of course social media is good at giving us information but a lot of the information and news can be fake/made up which deceases the quality of information we're getting. Since it causes you to double check what you hear and see and have doubts in what’s true or false. It also makes it very difficult to distinguish the difference between the truth and false information.

What is your perception of social media, do you think it is a fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?

I believe that social media is one of the biggest shifts since industrial revolution with over 500 million users on Facebook, 105 million on Twitter, and over 200 million on Myspace I wouldn’t call this a fad since millions and millions of people use Social media and it’s rising every day. Sixty percent of internet users are connected to social networks. Moreover, as we're in the computer age and mostly everyone has a computer or access to a computer, people usually end up using a social network when they’re bored at work, school, or at home.

I find that my friends and I use social networks most when we're bored, usually by texting, checking e-mails, going on facebook etc. Millions of people use social media to communicate with one another, like talking to friends or family. Many people also use social networks to express how they feel about certain things going on in their life or things going on in the world. Now that social networks are how people are keeping in touch they also use them to plan events and meetings. Therefore, the authorities are also using these networks to find out where or when a dangerous event might take place, and take precautionary measures. Employers are even using social networks like Facebook to do a personal check on possible new hires.  

The social media is very convenient for people, therefore, it can also be very dangerous as many people don't think twice about what they are posting for the world to see. I try to pay close attention to who has access to my information, because I know that it wouldn't be good if it got into the wrong hands. I will continue to use social networks though, as they are so easy and convenient to contact people, plan events, express opinions and much more.