The Role of Social Media
When we talk about SM, a few virtual platforms leap to mind instantly; the common ones include WhatsApp, YouTube, X Instagram, Facebook, Telegramme and TikTok. Valenzuela reveals how political upheavals and protests have used SM. Sebastián Valenzuela, (2018). This is instigated through opinion expressions and activism, which is again a mere expression of one’s sentiment on a particular subject. Lee, Chan, and Chen [5] finds that SM platforms, such as X, play an active role in democratic engagement. Seeking information via social network sites is a positive and significant predictor of people’s social capital and civic and political participatory behaviours, online and offline.(Homero Gil de Zúñiga, Nakwon Jung, Sebastián Valenzuela). That is, political engagement is both a major consequence of using SM for news as well as a key antecedent of sharing misinformation. brought about by SM – have produced a new dilemma: how to sustain a citizenry that is enthusiastically politically active, yet not spreading misinformation?
Sebastián Valenzuela, Daniel Halpern, James E. Katz & Juan Pablo Miranda (2019) The Paradox of Participation Versus Misinformation: SM, Political Engagement, and the Spread of Misinformation, Digital Journalism, 7:6, 802-823, DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2019.1623701
The author argues that reliance on SM for news does not contribute to people’s real level of political knowledge (objective knowledge), but instead only influences people’s impression of being informed (subjective knowledge). Sangwon Lee et al., 2022)
Social Media As An Emerging Source of News
The relevance of social media platforms as a source of news is a topic of debate and has been widely researched. Social media is only the most recent ‘truthless’ media. Here is an overview of some of the key findings on the role of social media platforms as a source of news and how they challenge traditional news in the digital era, with inline citations:
Increased use: A large number of people use social media platforms as a source of news, especially among younger populations. A study by the Pew Research Center found that 68 per cent of US adults use social media as a source of news, with 44 percent of them saying they use it often (Perrin, A. 2019).
Increased diversity: Social media platforms provide access to a wide range of news sources and perspectives that may not be available through traditional news sources. A study by the Reuters Institute found that social media users are more likely to encounter news from sources that they would not have otherwise encountered (Newman, N., Fletcher et al.,2017).
Concerns about accuracy: While social media platforms provide access to a wide range of news sources, there is also concern about the accuracy and reliability of the information that is shared on these platforms. A study by the Knight Foundation found that 59 percent of US adults are concerned about the accuracy of the news they see on social media (Mitchell, A. et al.,2017).
Competition with traditional news: Social media platforms are increasingly challenging traditional news sources, especially among younger populations. A study by the Reuters Institute found that young people are less likely to rely on traditional news sources, such as television and newspapers, and are more likely to rely on social media as a source of news (Newman et al., 2017).
These are some of the key findings on the role of social media platforms as a source of news and how they challenge traditional news in the digital era. While social media platforms provide access to a wide range of news sources and perspectives, there are also concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the information that is shared on these platforms, which highlights the need for media literacy and CT skills.
The role of SM is increasingly changing the modality of communication, at the basic level SM is an easy way to: (a) communicate, connect and converse with friends and family, share photos and files and publish music on the blogosphere. Many people use as a marketplace for promoting their businesses or personal brands, or to foster a network for trading as borne out by several exemplary millionaires, who have harnessed the power of SM, (b) participate in debates, discussions and discourses in online communities, (c) discover and consume news and information, (d) connect with like-minded individuals around shared interests or causes and (e) enable them to voice their preferences, grievances, dislikes, suggestions or to participate in the public sphere to exercise their freedom of speech. [NEXT – YouTube Throttles Epistemic Knowledge]