The Impact of Social Media on Journalism and the Future

Over the recent years, there has been an enormous growth of the social media with the emergence of various platforms like Facebook and Twitter. These platforms have reduced the use of the traditional online platforms that dominated online activities before, such as the AOL (Enright). In turn, sites like Facebook and Twitter increased the use of social media by diverse groups of people from all over the world for various purposes. This has now only impacted the social lives of individuals but also on the journalism field as well.

The development of these social media platforms has given journalism a whole new face. Consumers are becoming more interested in receiving news as it happens. Reading a newspaper each morning will no longer seem updated because the stories on the front page were probably published and shared the night before on social media. Having the ability to report news as it happens explains a partial reason behind the popularity of online social platforms and the influences that they have on practices and direction of journalism.

Facebook is an online platform that has experienced considerable growth over the past decade, and it has continued being successful with an increasing number of users with millions of activities taking place every minute and at the same time (Duggan). Similarly, Facebook has become a dominant player concerning the news business, and this is proving to be of significant impact on the practice of journalism. Facebook can gather information about its users and create custom advertisements. The platform has the capability to have a scale similar to the audience of the Super Bowl, yet be able to target individuals like one would at a specialized conference (Brasen).

However, different people have competing views regarding the impact that social media has on journalism. Some see it as a negative force that is swallowing and carrying away the art of journalism (Bell). While others see it as a positive force and that it should be embraced and appreciated (Jarvis).

I am a frequent user of multiple social media platforms, namely Facebook and Twitter. I am a prospecting journalist with an interest in being a multiplatform journalist due to the great interest I have in public relations and technology. With time, I hope to become a news reporter both on television as well as online. I believe that television reporting will slowly become obsolete as online video streaming become the most viewed. People will access their news solely from the Internet, through sites like YouTube, as Cable television will become extinct. I am in support of the involvement of Facebook as well as other online sites in the news business. Unlike other traditional journalists, who view Facebook as a platform that seeks to replace journalism, I believe it is a platform that adds information to the various existing sources of news. It has a great impact on crowdsourcing as well as newsgathering which are useful tools for journalists.

In my view, with the perpetual growth and improvement of social media, journalism is going to change continuously from its traditional way of functioning and encourage journalists to up their game concerning conveying real time news. At the same time, we are heading to an interesting era in journalism, especially to journalists who are keen to embrace the impact that social media is having on communication as an art. This is because as sites like Facebook become crucial for the gathering of news, eye-witness reports, and providing a place for direct engagement with the audience. Finding multiple people who can give first-hand accounts of situations is becoming easier and easier with Facebook (Songbird) . Journalists can be able to engage with a larger audience, and information and news can move quickly and to a larger group of people all over the world while having a two-way engagement. Having this allows for journalists to listen to the responses and gauge their content on their audience.

Similarly, non-established journalists have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the art of journalism as well as popularize themselves among the users of social media. The act of being a journalist will change. Anybody and everybody will technically be considered a journalist. However, those we trust will become popular news sources. Rising journalists will always have a platform to distribute their content that may have not otherwise been accepted in radio or television. Having this ability will ensure that the work, as well as the research, of journalists, will not go unnoticed or wasted, but rather reach their audience regardless of where they are at in their career.

However, the immense evolution of social media transmitting news does not come without a price. Journalists will be required to use Facebook, Twitter, etc. as it continues to grow with popularity among news consumers. Consequently, journalists who continue to ignore the significance of social media will end up lagging behind regarding the audience they reach as well as the responses they receive. The modern era of journalism is be brought about by the forms of relationships reporters have with their audience through these platforms.

The growth of the numerous social media platforms, therefore, comes with both opportunities as well as a package of challenges. It all depends on the use that you put into the various sites and as well as the personal view of the journalist. The internet has taken over our lives, but now social media is taking over the internet. The emergence of these sites, such as Facebook, will forever have an impact on journalism. Mobile devices enabling social media to follow us wherever we go and recording information about our daily lives changes how information is used. This growth, therefore, calls for the embrace and the use of these sites by modern journalists to ease their work as well as to maintain a relationship with their audiences. However, journalists who appear to be reluctant towards embracing the incorporation of the various social media platforms in their work may lag behind. The future of journalism is through social media; there is no way around that.

Works Cited:

Bell, Emily. “Facebook is eating the world.” 07 03 2016. Columbia Journalism Review. 21 06 2016 <http://www.cjr.org/analysis/facebook_and_media.php>.

Duggan, Maeve. “Social Media Update 2014.” 09 01 2015. FootHills Presbyte. 21 06 2016 <www.foothillspresbyte.org/wp-content/uploads/site/175/2015/07/social-media-s>.

Enright, Michael. “Facebook: What’s Not to Like? — an Ira Basen documentary.” 14 02 2016. CBC Radio. 21 06 2016 <http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/surviving-a-tough-interview-revolutionary-presidential-candidates-facebook-s-rise-to-global-domination-1.3443850/facebook-what-s-not-to-like-an-ira-basen-documentary-1.3445888>.

Jarvis, Jeff. “Death to the Mass.” 23 05 2016. Whither News. 21 06 2016 <https://medium.com/whither-news/death-to-the-mass-eb33c08dc3b6#.1heqkljyj>.

Songbird, Social. “Social Media’s Impact on Journalism.” 09 2013. Social SongBird. 21 06 2016 <http://www.socialsongbird.com/2013/09/social-medias-impact-on-journalism.html>.