Web 2.0 and the Forgotten Connection for Writers and Consumers
Final Reflection
Today, the internet and digital media are integral parts of our society and its day-to-day functions. We use it to connect with friends, get information, schedule meetings, read important documents, and call our mothers. It would be bizarre to imagine our world today without the internet. But it wasn’t always like this. We weren’t always reliant on our phones or computers to complete everyday tasks. The digital world has experienced gradual growth as media consumers increased their use online. What used to be referred to as Web 1.0, where online platforms were private and self-regulated, has now evolved into Web 2.0, where the online world intertwines with reality and everyone is connected with interactivity (Tolentino, 2020).
With the increased use of Web 2.0, today’s digital citizens get the vast majority of their news through social media. This constant use of media has created an information overflow and a 24/7 news cycle online (Jones & Hafner, 2012). Digital media consumers don’t want to wait hours to hear about a court case, game score, or weather updates. It’s now all instantaneous at the click of a button. Stories, posts, messages, and blogs are constantly being uploaded and updated by media professionals and digital citizens. This increased use of technology means that media outlets aren’t only producing a written story, they are also producing live updates through Twitter, live streams through Facebook, posts through Instagram, filming a video, taking photos, jotting down notes for the emailed newsletter, and much more. Because of these modernized practices of Web 2.0, digital citizens have completely altered their use of digital media and civic life.
While the current use of media is crucial to the functions of our society, it comes with its own set of affordances and constraints (Jones & Hafner, 2012). It’s been extremely useful, and sometimes life-saving in events of natural disasters or tragedies. The use of social media is extremely helpful in these situations, as people can stay updated and informed at the touch of a button. This constant cycle of information is beneficial for keeping people informed. The advancements in technology also allow for it all to be done with just a smartphone, making the speed of information and updates much easier. This gives everyday citizens the opportunity to contribute to stories and online media, which creates a more inclusive and well-rounded environment online. This encourages digital consumers to interact with writers which builds rapport and trust with the sources they regularly look to.
But the constant swarm of news and information can be dangerous. It’s becoming more and more difficult to know what is true or what is false online. On social media, anyone can post anything. We are living in an age where we are overloaded with information and struggle to find our way out (Jones & Hafner, 2012). It is this information craze that is making the consumption of news so tricky. How do we know what is right or wrong? How do we know what is fake or not? This uncertainty can also lead digital consumers to believe the falsities and create a hostile and argumentative setting online. This only causes more issues and contributes to many of the negative associations people have with the internet today. It is daunting to think that while social media and digital literacies have truly enhanced the way we communicate and inform one another, it also causes a plethora of issues.
One of the biggest ways that Web 2.0 has changed and challenged Americans’ use of media is through the misinterpretations or misconceptions of a source through bias or agenda. It is important to note that bias and agenda are not the same. Agenda refers to what a news source or organization is set up to do, whereas bias is about the preexisting opinions and experiences that influence the way someone or an organization views something (Notion, Check Please Lesson 3).
It’s worth mentioning that nothing is unbiased either, which is where many American media consumers get confused. No matter if it’s an individual, a local newspaper, or a large media platform, there is a bias of some kind. While bias and agenda may look the same from the outside, they are very different, and understanding the differences between the two can make you a stronger reader and a better consumer of information on the web. What media consumers and digital writers have to do is learn to navigate through it to find the most reputable, accurate, factual, and truthful information.
Following this misconception of bias and agenda in digital media is fabricated or fake news. A large portion of these fake or even satirical stories that circulate across the web and gain tremendous amounts of publicity are coming from obviously uncredible sources with poor agendas. It’s situations like these where bias and agenda are confused because it is easily assumed that bias is the driving factor for fake news. But what actually determines if the source is credible and factual comes down to the agenda. Personal bias from a source certainly has its impact when it comes to news but bias is not the same as agenda. Simply because something has bias does not mean it can’t be trusted, meaning that the agenda of a source should be the main factor when evaluating the credibility of a source (Notion, Check Please Lesson 3).
But how did fake news get to be such a big problem? With the increased use of Web 2.0, digital citizens have the ability and capacity to post whatever they like and reach hundreds of thousands of screens. Hate, fake news, and propoganda are some of the easiest things that grow and spreads online and continue to do so for the sake of monetary gain for these social media companies. Apps like Twitter “prioritize driving traffic and its investors’ returns” (Daniels, 2017) over creating a safe and enjoyable experience for the rest of its users. Social media truly is a double-edged sword in today’s world of Web 2.0 but luckily there are strategies that help digital citizens and digital writers to find the right information.
The checklist referred to as SIFT, helps digital citizens decipher and quickly evaluate a profile, a website, or a story online. ‘S’ means stopping and restraining from clicking on the first result you see. This leads to step ‘I’, which encourages the user to investigate the source. This leads to step ‘F’ helping you find other coverage on the story. Finally, step ‘T’ means that you trace the claims in the article to the original source by using tools like Wikipedia.
As users of these platforms, it’s vital that digital citizens are cautious and aware of the information and news we see online. We have to be careful about what accounts we follow, interact with, and trust. It is crucial that in this ever-changing world of social media, digital citizens accept the changes of Web 2.0 and are competent and confident in their digital literacies to keep them shielded and equipped to find reliable sources.
The internet has changed our lives, there’s no denying it. We use it daily and sometimes for things we don’t even realize. The only way to combat the falsities we see on the internet is to be selective and question everything. In this new digital age, we not only need to filter our information but need to ask the right questions to uncover the truth.
It is also important that with the advancements in Web 2.0 and reliance on technology, we as digital citizens and public writers hold the people that publish false information accountable. By working to spot the lies, we can bring forth the truth. It is vital that in digital media, all professional and public writers are transparent about their ethics, values, and processes. It is crucial to validate the public’s skepticism or fears of the internet due to the influx of information but to then show them and prove to them why they can and should trust your work (Walsh, 2021).
With these robust shifts in online media, it becomes much more critical for public writers to be extremely conscientious about their digital citizenship and online presence. Public writers must understand that with this increased use of digital media and information overload, media consumers trust them less and less. But there are certainly ways that digital writers can build their credibility to gain back the public’s trust.
Transparency and commitment to ethical values, missions, and processes are vital in an age of digital convergence. By making yours public as a digital writer, you’ll grow your audience and credibility in the media. Of course, there will always be mistakes, but when you go the extra mile to correct them, update your audience, be transparent about your work, and label all your writing properly, you can stand out from the abundance of unethical writers and fake stories.
It is crucial that digital citizens are conscious and educated about the abundance of information we encounter online. In this digital world of constant information, users need to be equipped and confident in their critical digital literacy skills and their ability to find the best source possible. Following this is digital writers, who need to apply the necessary skills and information to their work to become stronger and more credible writers and better consumers of online information. The use of digital media and information online is spreading and growing faster than we can comprehend. It is vital that in this ever-changing world of digital media, users are competent and confident in their digital literacies to keep us shielded from lies and equipped to find the truth hidden within the depths of our feeds.
“Anything we do nowadays, is somehow mediated through digital technologies” (Jones & Hafner, 2012).
