With regards to the recent CT shooting, I’m extremely sad for the families of Newtown and what actions of people in this world are coming to. Since the tragedy, the world wide web has been flooded with text, photos and updates corresponding to the shooting. I’m completely okay with people supporting the recovery process for this situation but I am disgusted with the way some people branch off with their information and ignore their ethics entirely.
As an avid social network user, I am extremely cautious of the information that I release because once it is there, it’s there forever. At any point in time, another user or even an employer can come back to me looking for an explanation on something that I have published in the past that I may have easily forgotten about but now my refutation is relying on this job or whatever it may be. My point being, users of social networks need to realize that sometimes you should only post things that you are not worried about saying in person. I find it quite simple to state something while sitting behind a computer or smart phone screen but when it comes time to be confronted in person, those thoughts hide away like they were never thought of in the first place. Reread the 140 characters that are typed before you hit ‘enter’.
With the growth of technology in today’s society, the current generations will take advantage of any new opportunity that comes their way. If everyone has Twitter and there’s so much talk about it, then I’m going to want to get a Twitter account too. This goes for every other social networking site. The matter of the situation is how these sites are used. Which right now, they’re being used incredibly wrong. One occurrence that bothers me the most is one that happens on Tumblr (a blog site) and sometimes on Facebook. A user will post a picture of a natural disaster, a traumatic victim from a tragedy, or even U.S. soldiers in an act and then right beneath the photo(s) will read “If you don’t reblog (or like) this I’m judging you.”
I’ve come across some unbelievable pictures before with this text attached to it and it really floors me that people have so much dedication to a social networking site and that if another user does not agree with them, then that person will judge them. I honestly have to laugh when I see those now. Of course some of the pictures can be extremely devastating and heartbreaking but is it my place to really continue to spread the unnecessary awareness of it? No not at all. Guess I’ll have to be judged by some other stranger on the internet now, what ever shall I do with my life…
One thing I remember reading in my notes while studying for my Intro to Mass Communications exam was the fact that media in the sixties had no right in covering the affairs Kennedy had while being president and that you rarely viewed Roosevelt in his wheelchair while he was president. When you turn on the television today you can find a fully detailed recap on Taylor Swift and that kid from that boy band’s date, a fully detailed story on the Petraeus scandal and a fully detailed review on why Katie Couric wore such a short skirt on her own show. Okay, as a girl my age I could care less what the media is saying in regards to these three points, but other people may think otherwise. I think that it is a waste of time and air space for people on TMZ to report the exact itinerary of a date that two celebrities have because that’s down right creepy. Sure the two celebs should expect it because of their social standings but it’s all about the way media handle things.
A few nights ago I watched Miss Representation, a documentary about how wrongly women are portrayed in the media. I believe some parts of it directly correspond with this discussion at hand but I won’t dig too deep into it. At the same time media wrongly portrays women, those women allow that to happen. A skinny, flawless actress is certainly willing to play any kind of role for the money and attention. It’s just what she is used to. Society has been shaped to be this way due to all contributing factors including media. Media encourages men to believe that they can do, think and say anything they wish without it harming the opposite gender or effecting their credentials. It’s incredibly sickening and I have not been bothered more by a circumstance like this one in a while. Media is encountered everywhere for everything. Apparently myself and others have similar thoughts in how the media relays information and how some instances are covered. It has gotten out of hand and to the point where something just needs to be on the air for people to get the information. Well, that’s not how it should be and because of the way society is today, it will take many strong actions to change it. But that’s not what I wanted to get into with this.
Please be aware of what you are saying on Facebook and Twitter because it could easily hurt you in the long wrong and effect many other people’s thoughts in thinking about you. Try not to be so obsessive and territorial over a website with pictures and text. Tangible items are more reliable and realistic… Lastly, do not take one piece of information and run with in. Establish ethos and trace a path back to that source. One thing that really irks me with social media is how a person on Twitter says one thing when in reality the statement was the complete opposite. Step away from media once and a while and maybe things will seem a little stress free.
