Reflection #1: The Power of Twitter (REVISED)
Twitter, originally just a site to express one’s thoughts, has grown into a much more powerful platform. It has even helped our current president get his viewpoints out, gain a following and get elected. Trump’s blatantly racist and offensive tweets have been appearing all over social media and even in the news. The way in which the President uses Twitter is a result of social factors, not the technology itself. Like any social media platform, Twitter and the content it produces has the ability to create controversy.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/could-ex-twitter-ceo-have-changed-way-trump-tweets-n715531
In Baym’s essay “Making New Media Make Sense”, she discusses both technological determinism and the social construction of technology theory to explain the impact of technology on society and vice versa. Technological determinism argues that it is easy for our society to assume that a new technology has the power to actively change society, and there is nothing we can do about it. On the other hand, the social construction of technology argues that “rather than viewing social change as a consequence of new media, it views new technologies and their uses as consequences of social factors” (Baym 45). Furthermore, Baym states that the “social forces influence the invention of new technologies” (Baym 38). This social construction of technology theory can be applied to Trump and his use of Twitter.
Trump’s use of Twitter is widely covered by the media. The article “Take Back Twitter From Trump” by Jamie Stiehm on US News online discusses the influential power of Twitter on politics and other aspects of life. I believe our society is so reliant on social media to get information, that we sometimes do not question the legitimacy of it. We should not overlook the fact that some information on social media could be fabricated in order to gain more likes, followers and views. This was exemplified in many of Trump’s tweets during his 2016 campaign. He has made many outlandish and incorrect claims. For example, he infamously overestimated the size of the crowd at his inauguration. He has also mis-quoted Abraham Lincoln (Stiehm). However, I believe that sometimes people assume tweets from “politicians,” and other high profile Twitter users, are factual because there is no information to confirm or reject their legitimacy on the platform.
Stiehm analyzes Trump’s Twitter strategy. She argues that Trump “...turned public discourse into ‘discoarse’ in the 2016 presidential election, with the internet as an indispensable license for his free, unchecked speech. The truth, for him, is whatever he says it is. Fake news was not far behind” (Stiehm).
As Twitter has grown, it has increasingly become a source of information for the public. Even politicians are turning to Twitter to introduce and explain policies, rather than relying on traditional media outlets like television and newspapers. Today, important political figures have the ability to instantly spread information on new policies and government procedures. President Trump’s use of Twitter has been controversial. Many believe his tweets are offensive and racist and yet Twitter has yet to restrict him from using their platform. I believe that the powerful use of Twitter has been overshadowed by his misuse. I also believe that social media platforms, such as Twitter, are so prominent in our lives that we do not realize how powerful they have become. Twitter has grown and today is used as a source of news and current events, and not merely a way to keep up with our friends.
Sources:
Baym, Nancy K. "Making New Media Make Sense." Personal Connections in the Digital Age.
Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2010. 22-49. Print
Stiehm, Jamie. “Take Back Twitter From Trump.” U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News &
World Report, 14 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
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