New Media Q’s
1
I am a techno-optimist when it comes to some types of social media—such as YouTube, which is a great way to share informational videos on topics that are not covered by mainstream media. I am less fond of Facebook and Twitter and so would regard myself as a techno-pessimist when it comes to these forms of social media, as they tend to be more of a platform for people to spout off their own personal views and opinions. At least YouTube provides the platform for content to be shared and searched in an easy manner. Twitter is more for trolling and Facebook is more for creating a shrine to oneself. Twitter can be a way to get headline news out the door quickly, but I myself have never found it to be my go-to source of news information. I prefer news blogs like ZeroHedge, which are updated throughout the day with news stories published on both independent and mainstream media sites.
What makes me optimistic about YouTube (till the recent purge of politically incorrect content, at least) is that it acts essentially like an enormous video library that usually anyone can add to. This can help people develop new ideas about themselves and the world and be better informed. What makes me pessimistic about Facebook and Twitter is that they seem to be odes to one’s self—one’s socio-politics—one’s beliefs—one’s biases, without really offering much in the way of content or value. It usually just contributes to the stream of “pointless babble” often associated with social media (Baym, 2010, p. 30). For organizing political movements like Me Too, Arab Spring, or BLM, I am not optimistic either. I feel like Me Too brought a lot of noise to an issue and bad karma to an issue that could have been handled better. Arab Spring I feel was co-opted by the state for the purpose of regime change. And BLM does not seem to me to carry the same weight and urgency as the Civil Rights Movement. So I view these as more noise.
2
I think the fact that Ross’s...
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