Truth Revealed Through Social Media

Technology influences many of the changes throughout the world and society.  The fact that citizens and users in other countries are able to freely voice opinions and share information with their peers can often be seen as affecting the events in the world.  It may seem far-fetched, but in many cases it is evident that social media has acted as a catalyst to many situations.

For example, social media helped with transformation of the authoritarian regimes in the Arab world and has gone as far as to be called, “Revolution 2.0” (Hochwald, 2013, para. 1) because of how Web 2.0 influenced the changes that were made.  Although social media has been seen to empower the people by giving them a voice, the governments are now starting to use this technology as a benefit rather than a disadvantage.   “The widespread diffusion of the Internet, mobile communication, digital media and a variety of social software tools throughout the world has transformed the communication system into interactive horizontal networks that connect the local and global” (Hochwald, 2013, para. 11).  By the government and local authorities participating on these social networks, they are able to respond to the concerns of the community and make sure that they retain their credibility.

In the United States today there are many issues with the African American community having issues with police forces.  The fact that information can be widespread quickly allows them to gain followers and influence the opinions of others.  “It is making "communication on the Internet ... no longer a controlled, organized, exclusive, product-driven monologue; it is an authentic, transparent, inclusive, user-driven dialogue" with global reach” (Hohwald, 2013, para. 21).  This is a concern that has affected the world and should not be taken lightly.  This is a major reason of why social media should be taken seriously when it comes to politics and world events such as #Blacklivesmatter, which gained popularity quickly.

People use the internet to show what their interests are and what a priority is in their lifetime.   Blogs are not the first place that welcomed the opinions of the users and have filled gaps in community everywhere.  “The open nature of blogging means that anyone with access to a computer and something to say could, potentially, create a blog” (Meyers, 2012, p. 4).

Reference

Hochwald, T. (2013). How do social media affect intra-state conflicts other than war? Connections : The Quarterly Journal, 12(3), 9-37. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1478179238?accountid=3783

King, J. (2015). #blaclivesmatter. Retrieved from Website: https://stories.californiasunday.com/2015-03-01/black-lives-matter/

Meyers, E. (2012). ‘Blogs give regular people the chance to talk back’: Rethinking ‘professional’ media hierarchies in new media. sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1461444812439052