An interesting statement made by
Raquel Recuero in the You Tube video, Digital
Youth, Social Movements, and Democracy in Brazil (2012), in regards to
social media was that social media is not creating the problem; social media is
showing the problem . When considering
the problems associated with social media such as bullying, lack of privacy and
the sharing of too much information, I realized the truth of the statement made
by Recuero. These issues always existed
in society. There was always bullying,
there was always a threat to the young when sharing too much personal
information with strangers. It’s this
very reason that parents warn their small children not to talk to
strangers. Social media just emphasized problems
that always existed in our society.
Weblogs and the Public Sphere
and Digital Youth, Social Movement, and
Democracy in Brazil both discussed the use of blogs in effecting change
within society. The problem identified
is that while everyone has access to blogs, not everyone is able to be
heard. The larger blogs with the time
and money are so big that interaction and collaboration is limited. It’s mainly one person sharing their opinion
and controlling what stories circulate through the system (O’Baroill, p.
5).
One of the benefits of social media mentioned by Recuero is the ability
to impact change in social movements and critical thinking. Social media when used effectively draw
attention to social movements. Recuero
mentioned the attention that social media brought to a polluted river. Citizens banned together and had the river
cleaned. There are cultural benefits to
social media. The problem is the
inability of smaller blogs to reach the right people in order to make these
types of changes. Weblogs and the Public Sphere refers to it as the “propagation
network that serves to privilege some over others” (p. 5).
While social media can have a positive impact on society, it remains a
bit one sided, with the haves still controlling the have-nots. I am concerned about the possibility of the
loss of network neutrality as discussed in Networked Publics. Without network neutrality, those with the
means and time will be able to impose their views on the many. Opposing views will be lost and unable to be
heard.
References
O'Baoill,
A. (n.d.). Weblogs and the Public Sphere. Retrieved from Into the Blogshere:
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/weblogs_and_the_public_sphere.html
Recuero,
Raquel. Digital Youth, Social Movements and Democracy in Brazil. N.p.:
Connected Learning TV, 24 July 2012. YouTube.
Varnelis, K. (. (2012). Networked
Publics. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Corintha,
ReplyDeleteGood post. The debate over the pros and cons over the use of social media is a good one. I myself am not a big user of social media but I do understand the potential value in its use. I agree with your statement: “There was always bullying, there was always a threat to the young when sharing too much personal information with strangers” I believe the sense of having anonymity gives more people courage to engage in behaviors they wouldn’t normally be involved in. I see it on the news when high profile stories are shared on television – then you hear about someone getting fired over a post they did over social media.
This was a very informative video. It offered a unique perspective on social media in a different culture. There were some similarities to Networked Publics, especially theories regarding youth movements and their ability to mobilize and bring about changes in society, especially in politics.
ReplyDeleteI thought Recuero did a commendable job pointing out both the positive and negative aspects of social media. She was rightly concerned about cyber bullying, sexism and prejudice that is present on social media. She astutely pointed out that often times violence or prejudiced ideas are sometimes accepted on social media sites because they are often embedded in humor. These are problems that need to be addressed and become a prat of discussions on problems with social media.
Reference:
Recuero, R. Digital Youth, Social Movements and Democracy in Brazil. N.p.
Connected Learning TV, 24 July, 2012. www.youtube.com
I agree. I do think there is a huge problem with social media. So much of our communication goes through corporations and there is very little privacy. I also think social media needs better boundaries. I absolutely loved this video, her points about social media not being the issue were very true. It highlights our need for change and decentralization.
ReplyDelete