Edited, Bobadilla,Steve-Reflection #1

Steve Bobadilla

MCS 355

Edited-Reflection #1

2/18/17

Dr. Snyder

Younger Generation, Preference 

Social Media vs. News Channels

Today we will be analyzing why the younger generations in modern day society strongly prefer to get their news through various social media outlets including Snapchat & Twitter, rather than through various news channels. We will also be looking at how “fake news” has become so popular these days. I came across an interesting article in The Washington Post which is a trustworthy reliable source, that is well-known around the country. This news article specifically focuses on the young voters who heavily use social media as their main form of communication. This quote found in the article referenced below supports my argument “But clearly, young people find social media especially useful, in part because they can follow news recommended by people in their social networks.” (Curry, Kevin, Washington Post Writer). https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/09/30/more-and-more-people-get-their-news-via-social-media-is-that-good-or-bad/?utm_term=.f41d12ebe597. This article also relates to Baym’s argument of “Communication about technology is also productive, generating new meanings for technologies, new uses of technologies and even new technologies.” (Sturken & Thomas 2004).

I firmly believe that people are more comfortable with obtaining news through social media because they feel a sense of secrecy & security. At the same time, there is no way of knowing whether or not someone glorified that particular news story. For example, for those people who feel insecure about themselves, social media provides more of a sense of “staying in the loop with current events.” I also think people use social media as a “curtain toward reality”, to shield them from the bad news. The younger generations also feel a sense of unity, when it comes to discussing various points of view about the same subject. This could be weather someone agrees or disagrees. For example, the younger generations which have a sense of being heavily judged or criticized constantly by their parents or their peers. The younger generations also prefer social media over news channels because of speed and convenience. I also believe that social media provides, a more direct way of communication because of the creation of social media applications.

         On the other hand, distinguishing between “fake news” and true news is nearly impossible now, because of a recent spike which has motivated users to post “exaggerated news posts”, which ends up not being fully true. This trend was made famous by President Donald Trump, who is now highly criticized for this in today’s media. Now that we have a wide variety of social media sites we believe everything that is posted. I also think all social media websites should have a “fake news” filter, so that society could have more “peace of mind”. Today, we tend to glorify this kind of news, which is not healthy. We must find a way to prevent this! I know different news stations have their perspectives on certain issues, but they should not only highlight the negative news, they should highlight the positive news. This is my position on how younger generations prefer to get their news through social media rather than relying solely on news channels. 

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