Social media is for idiots…and businesses
It is commonly accepted that media which one may find in corner shops is being swiftly replaced by the titan which is the internet. The success of a story is no longer dictated by profits from its sales but whether the story goes viral on social media. And where there is money to be made in creating features which go viral there is always an audience ready and waiting to be manipulated and used by the material they encounter. Yes, it has to be said, social media is for idiots.
Not that social media necessarily creates idiots, as these people have always been around to consume whatever garbage is thrown at them in some form. But social media has undoubtedly become a complete feeding ground for the gullible, the malleable and the downright idiotic people of the world. The digital media of today has enabled us to become more connected to the world than ever before. Literally everyone who has access to the internet in western society is able to access and input information for the entire online community to see. And with complete freedom and access to social media and every possible opinion on anything, there arises a complete opaqueness surrounding one fundamental thing which all desire. Truth and clarity.
The phrase ‘fake news’ has become a regularly discussed topic in modern society and this is largely as a result of social media. One infamous example of this can be demonstrated in the 2016 US presidential election where fake story after fake story about each candidate would circulate on a daily basis. The public consequentially found it exceedingly difficult to deduce the fact from the fabrications which resulted in them mistrusting both candidates immeasurably. But who are those who profit from this? To some extent it is the same people it has always been. News sources who are constantly desperate to sell their stories and make profit from the amount of hits their stories generate. The Daily Mail online, for example, is a classic illustration of online journalism selling lie-infested coverage of news stories which is automatically believed and shared by thousands each day. But it is also politicians themselves who are benefiting immensely from the idiots of social media, as US president Donald Trump is an example of. The obscurity that surrounds the online community is the perfect condition for political extremists such as Donald Trump to release limitless fabrications which are available for millions of people to read and believe.
I might hear one ask, however, what the difference is between people telling the public lies online to people telling the public lies in newspapers and on TV? If you were to scroll through your Facebook news feed it would be reasonable to predict that you may come across at least five different news stories that friends of yours have shared onto their pages and another three which appear on the ‘trending’ section on the top right of the page. These viral stories are simply inescapable. Each story will tell you something new that has happened and why not to believe what the other stories are telling you. But, again, why is this any different than before? The difference is that there is absolutely no filter on what can be said and the sources that can say them when they are said online. To some extent, this is a very good thing as it shows that we live in a society where free speech is given to all and all opinions are valid. But where all opinions are valid, no opinions are valid. The media which existed 20 years ago often lied and exaggerated in their attempt to sell stories but it was at least predictable. One knew that if they picked up a copy of the Sun that they would find completely different material to if they picked up the Guardian. Between the two of them one could comparatively easily work out the basic truths of the story the papers were covering. But in today’s society with the thousands of stories from ever emerging sources how is one ever to work out the truth? The only answer is not necessarily to shy away from social media (as to do so you would have to become a complete hermit) but to find your reliable sources and not to jump to panicked beliefs about every story which is shared onto your news-feed.
With thanks to Tansica Sun
