I’ll tell you what Facebook is.
I remember being introduced to Facebook by the popular kids in high school, yelling across the room early morning during homeroom attendance:
“hey, have you heard of this thing called Facebook?”
“Facebook?”
“Like a book of faces, you mean?”
It was the most bizarre thing I heard. I hid it from my parents for a year, the idea of placing a profile of yourself on the internet for the whole world to see you, seemed like a false accusation of who you are and how you sell yourself. Internally it was difficult to adapt to a norm that was barely understood by my Lebanese parents, it was discussions on the dinner table that lead to, Facebook being not allowed.
After all of it, the scope of what it has become is a mere adjustment to societies needs. The idea of it has become more of platform of connection, not connectivity in societies, but a platform that allows, with or without the rules, a space to have your own voice.
The ability to post and share what you want and when you want, it has become the association of what we seek as a space that is safe, for only the words you share, but, not for the responses shared.
Having said that, it has become a platform that forms your own opinions with what you see. The people you follow and the things you like, becoming the bubble of what you are and who you become.
It confides you from seeking more and understanding what the world has to offer. Each individual creates their own space, their own world, that evolves only with what you are interested in. Rather, it should be providing a space that gives you the opportunity to share what you like and where you go.
It is upsetting that the idea of it has evolved into a more confided space, rather a space for understanding and gaining knowledge.
With this, the idea of Hallin’s sphere and its theory has become disrupted. The theory entails the ideas of three concentric spheres: consensus, legitimate controversy and deviance.
As a breakdown:
A. The sphere of consensus is focused on topics that are agreed on by the entire society, forming the idea of “we” and societies shared assumptions.
B. The sphere of legitimate controversy, a space that is focused on the different opinions and views the society has. In a journalistic approach, these are the topics that should be discussed and shared with both perspectives shared, having no bias.
C. The sphere of deviance, topics that are unworthy of discussions. Conflicting topics that should not have a space for discussion, as they are portrayed and seen as not news worthy.
With these three elements combined, they provide a scope of building and sharing news. In this case, Facebook projects the complete opposite. Rather it places point C, as the most important and point A being the topic of unwanted attraction.
Facebooks space of freedom of speech, has allowed the scope of wrong and unworthy topics to become the centric idea of what societies understand and believe, rather it being stories shared that provide a scope of different opinions.
The disruption has sold out journalism, making it seem that the stories shared by journalists are perceived as wrong. Thus, intruding in the truth of real journalism. It is of vital importance for a journalist to share the stories that are of great importance for the progression of society and keeping a system in tact.
Facebook has now provided a challenge for them, leaving them with no option but, to associate their stories with information that communities want to hear, instead of what should actually be heard.
